All of us at Team Seacats would like to welcome Astral Buoyancy Company onboard with us for the run up the coast! Astral Buoyancy is a relatively new company that builds high quality / high ingenuity life vests and they’re based right nearby in Asheville, NC. For about two years I’ve been on a personal mission to find a life jacket that suits our needs in a distance race like the Tybee 500. I was about to give up until a few months ago while visiting an outdoor adventure supply store, I saw a rack of very solidly built life vests from a company that I hadn’t heard of. After trying on a few different models, I quickly realized that these guys have put a LOT of thought and effort in making a high quality piece of equipment and accessories to go with them. Consider that we carry on our jackets the following: a personal EPIRB, a strobe, a flare, a flashlight, a gps, food, water, spare parts (high-tech line and a shackle or two), an 18′ leash, and a rescue knife. Not only does this jacket have a spot for nearly all of this, but it also has an ingenious quick release attachment point for the leash we are required to carry. I’m excited to give the jackets their first test run and to have another high calibre company supporting us for our run up the coast. Keep your eye on Astral Buoyancy - these guys really think “out of the box” and are just starting to break into the sailing industry.
