"Made me a believer ."

It was the morning of 12-09-06, 52 degrees with a strong breeze, on beautiful Lake Conway in Orlando, Florida.  The tournament director had advised me that I was fishing alone and that my partner was unable to attend the tournament. 

After deploying the trolling motor I started fishing.  As I was enjoying the sunrise and looking for baitfish breaking on the water I started fishing.  Due to the amount of cold weather clothing that I was wearing I had forgotten that I was wearing a Mustang inflatable PFD I had won at a competition that is very comfortable and almost undetectable with all of the clothing. 

The normal procedure for all bass fishermen is to discard the flotation device as soon as the big motor is cut off and I usually follow this procedure.

It was cold on the water and I had started fishing.  Nothing out of the ordinary until all at once a large bass had hit my bait and the fight was on.  After what seemed a long period of time I was able to observe that the bass was one of the many fish in the seven to ten pound range that frequent the lake so the excitement was building.  What to do next, swing the fish in the boat and risk loosing it or lean over the edge of the boat and lip the fish.  Lipping the fish seemed at the time a good decision.

After fighting the bass to the front of the boat, I decided to lean over a half a dozen fishing rods and lip the fish.  Trying to step over the rods I soon found myself falling overboard head first into cold water.  For those who have not experienced the activation of inflatable PFDs it is loud and very quick.  I soon found myself afloat but weighing several more pounds due to my wet clothing attempting to get myself back into the boat.

Remembering a lesson that I had learned from an old publication, I balanced myself on the skag area of the big motor and was able to remove my flotation device and heavy cold weather jacket.  With these both removed I was able to use the motors trim switch to lift myself into the rear of the boat.

I was able to learn several lessons this day. 
First was that no matter how many days you spend fishing on the water, any type of flotation device if being worn can save your life and help you have the ability to get back into the boat.

Second was that everyone should make sure that their life jacket will hold the added weight if they are wearing heavy clothing and if that clothing gets wet.

Third is that no matter the situation every boater should have a change of clothing to match the weather in the boat.

Last is that everyone should have a plan if they fall overboard.  They should know how to get back in without help.

Forget about cell phones and calling for help.  The phone is no good wet and in today’s time it is rare that you fish where others are at to hear you cry for help.

Jeffery Duncan
Sanford Florida

Until I purchased my Mustang survival suit, I didn't know that cold weather fishing could be this safe or comfortable.  Thanks for making them in 3X.

Joe Celestini
Cobourg, Ontario

"Thanks for supporting the sailing community."

I won one of your new Auto Hydrostatic Inflatable PFDs with Sailing Harness - MD3154 at the Vancouver Rowing Club's Summer Regatta. It is a great new product. The improvements over my previous one are fabulous!

I have been showing it off ever since and two of my crew have purchased them already. Thanks for supporting the sailing community. I will be back next year at the VRC Mustang Summer Regatta to hopefully win another one.

Keep up the good work. Much appreciated!!!!!

Tim Coughlin
Vancouver, BC

"My boyfriend grabbed me, pulled the inflation tab, and the jacket immediately inflated."

We are relatively new Lightning sailors but have other sailboat experience. At the New York Boat Show we purchased 2 Mustang Survival MD3081 manual inflatable life jackets. We've had our boat in the water since early April and have sailed it every weekend - wearing our Mustangs. They are so comfortable that we forget we have them on, even after returning to the yard to wash down the boat.

Recently we were out on a friend's Lightning in winds that were probably too hard. Of the 9 Lightnings that were out, 4 flipped. We flipped twice. The first time was a slow flip which lightly tossed us into the water. We righted the boat and kept on going, a little cold, but otherwise fine. There was no need to inflate our life jackets.

The second flip was absolutely unexpected. A major wind shift caused an unexpected and violent gybe. I got hit pretty hard in the head and the boat rolled over onto me. I was disoriented, out of air, and tangled in the main, which came down on top of me. The boom was pushing me under. It took me a little while to get out from underneath and when I did I was gasping for air and a little disoriented. My boyfriend grabbed me, pulled the inflation tab, and the jacket immediately inflated and kept me safe and afloat with my face out of the water. The guys righted the boat and we got back to shore. A few stitches later, my head is fine.

"Thank You For Sponsoring Lady Anglers "

"Wearing a life preserver saved my life"

The following is an excerpt from the March issue of Dock Talk and is written by Damon Wooley.

Joey Wood was competing in the monthly North Florida Bassmasters club tournament at the mouth of the Suwannee River on Saturday March 18 when this unfortunate accident occurred. Wood was traveling up the Suwannee River in his 21 foot Bullet bass boat when the hydraulic steering cable to his motor malfunctioned just above Clay landing. Wood stated that all he could remember was running up the river one minute and then waking up in the water the next. It is believed that the steering failure caused Wood's boat to hook suddenly which ejected him from his vessel.

As is required by tournament rules, Wood was wearing his Mustang BASS competition PFD (MD 3083), which is a hydrostatic life vest that is popular among tournament anglers. Wood also had fastened his engine kill switch to his PFD and I believe that it is because of these two precautions and the simple grace of God that he is alive today.

Wood received a severe laceration to his head, multiple bruises all over his body and re-injured an old back injury. Despite all of this, everyone including his doctor believes that he is fortunate to be alive. Wood is recovering at home and feels that without a doubt, his Mustang PFD saved his life.

"The suit out-performed our expectations. "

While deployed to New Orleans with the Texas Task Force we had the opportunity to "field test" the Mustang model MSD575 drysuit that you had sent us for evaluation. The suit out-performed our expectations. The design provided comfortable protection, with an enhanced measure of personal safety. The integral Gore-tex sock isolated the rescuers feet from the highly contaminated water (a feature not found in our current suits), without altering the boot size worn by the rescuer. The suspenders allowed the suit to be worn comfortably without the usual sensation of a "baggy fit". 

While we experienced no problems with the wrist and neck gaskets, the MSD575's neoprene gaskets offered the versatility of rapid field repair rather than having to deadline a suit in the middle of a deployment. Additionally the Kevlar protection on the lower extremities was most welcome in this environment. We had several cuts and tears in other protective ensembles from the glass and metal debris in the flood area, but the Mustang Survival MSD575 sustained no appreciable damage during it's use. 

As a result of the prolonged operations in the contaminated waters, the decision was made to remove all of the drysuits we used from service. I appreciate the opportunity to evaluate your product, and the prompt, courteous service in providing replacement drysuits for our department.

"I thank Mustang for giving me both security and comfort to continue sailing"

You know how it is, after one evening of too-brisk evening winds and then two evenings more, common sense leaves a sailor. My Mustang manual inflatable PFD probably didn't save my life, but it did forgive a foolishness.

Sailing out of mooring into the Basin a quirky gust on the cleated Main, sent us on our side, with my colleague on the keel holding us from full capsize. A high batten lodged in the rigging. We were at the mercy of the sail, stuck high on the mast and slopping in the waves.

Inflating my Mustang I worked my way along the boom to find the outhaul, also jammed. By now help had arrived and I was able to swim over for a knife to cut the outhaul, then work my way back along the boom to bring in the sail. So the main was tamed, and our little boat righted.

The Mustang was remarkable, holding my head out of the slop, but leaving my arms free to swim and work while providing welcome protection from the chill of winds and water.

As a 65 year old amateur, very amateur, I thank Mustang for giving me both security and comfort to continue sailing.

With thanks... I am out sailing again with my re-armed Mustang.

Patricia Simpson

"I...highly recommend your products to anyone that is near water"

I want to thank you for making an excellent product, the Mustang floater coat, which saved the lives of myself and my son while fishing on the West Coast of Quatsino Inlet for salmon.

While starting the outboard motor, it slipped into gear at full throttle and threw us off both into the ocean. If it were not for both of us wearing your floater coats, we would both have drowned as there was a fourteen foot tide coming in with a strong current. I am a none swimmer and I thank you for making such an excellent product, and highly recommend your products to anyone that is near water.

Thank you.
Roy Norman

"Your Mustang Suits were put to the ultimate test."

Gage Parrot of Titan Maritime Industries in Dania, Florida, was part of a team of salvage workers involved in the re-floating of the capsized 2,600-tonne container ship Sabine-D.

Temperatures were well below freezing during the December and January 1995-96 operation in the Kiel Canal just outside Rendsburg, Germany. The crew—2 teams working 12-hour rotating shifts— worked 24-hours a day in extreme conditions.

“Your Mustang Suits were put to the ultimate test,” says Parrot. “While our teams worked 12-hours shifts, your suits worked around the clock in extreme conditions, providing our men with the necessary protection that only a Mustang Survival Suit can provide.”

"Mustang Survival saved my life."

Augustine Gallant of Campellton, New Brunswick, is glad he was wearing a Mustang Floater Suit when he tripped and fell overboard while working on the CSS Hudson, a scientific research ship from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, which was deploying seismic survey gear in the Labrador Sea.

“Mustang Survival saved my life,” says Gallant. “I know that if it wasn't for your floater suit I would not have lasted the twelve minutes I was in the water until the lifeboat crew got to me and pulled me out of the sea.”

Gallant was deploying seismic air guns when he tripped—ropes and cables that were part of the operational gear were all over the deck.

“We were steaming ahead at about 5 knots,” explains Gallant, “and the water temperature was 3 degrees.”

Gallant was able to grab a wire on part of the seismic gear and hang on: he was dragged through the sea.

“I am fifty-two years old, I weigh 240 lbs, and I am 6 foot 2 inches tall,” says Gallant. “I was getting weak quite fast in the adverse conditions. I was wearing steel-toed insulated rubber boots and I had some tools in my pockets.”

"...my children still have their father."

Norma Ziegler of Gilford, Ontario, knows that an investment in safety always makes returns.

When her husband purchased a Honda snowmobile she talked him into buying a Mustang Ice Rider suit.

“He didn't want to spend the extra money but I insisted,” says Ziegler.

As it turns out, Ziegler’s instinct was right: a month later her husband was on Lake Simcoe in Cooks Bay when his snowmobile went through the ice in 63 feet of water— not once but twice!

"I owe my life to this jacket!"

“I'm a Mustang survivor,” says Pete Umlah

When Umlah’s boat sank he was wearing a Mustang jacket with a beaver tail. A beaver tail is an insulated crotch strap designed to minimize water flushing—in other words, the beaver tail didn’t let the water warmed by Umlah’s body out, it kept it inside his jacket where it would increase his hypothermia protection.

"[my suit] has been faultless in its performance over the years..."

When Richard Mumford of Hayling Island, Hants, England, was visiting Canada over 12 years ago he was given a one-piece Mustang Flotation Suit. He was here to commission RIBs for use as rescue craft on the oil fields and had arrived with “typical UK oilskins.”

“I was kindly allowed to keep the suit and have worn it continuously in the UK for the last 12 years for rescue and race management duties in my own RIB,” says Mumford.

“It has been faultless in its performance over the years and kept me afloat when rescuing people in the water several times,” he says.