A 12' skiff sailor told me once that it was dangerous to wear a life-jacket on a boat with such a big kite. The theory is that if you are flung forward during a nosedive with the kite up and land under the kite, the life-jacket makes it difficult to swim out to get air.

It is a tricky situation, with rescue boats around on a short course you are unlikely to spend more than 10mins in the water, which most sailors should be able to tread water for, and that's only if you get separated from your own boat. So from that point of view life-jackets aren't really necessary.

But if you get knocked out and end up in the water you really need a life-jacket to keep you afloat. But do our racing life-jackets actually keep our noses/mouths/heads out of the water if we're unconcious?

But if you were under a large kite and in the water you would not want a life-jacket on because it is easier to swim without one.

Most/all of the 12' sailors I know now wear life-jackets. The new life-jackets aren't too cumbersome in or out of the water.