BUOYANCY DEVICE

摘要

A buoyancy device (70) comprises a flotation body (72) designed to give the (5) buoyancy device (70) sufficient buoyancy to act as a life buoy for people to hold onto in the water during an emergency. The buoyancy device includes handles. The buoyancy device (70) includes a storage compartment (74) provided in connection with the flotation body (72) for housing rescue equipment or safety equipment. The storage compartment (74) of this embodiment takes the form of a tray (76). The tray (76, 10) is provided with a lid (78) which is used to cover the tray and maintain the contents securely inside. The lid (78) is preferably coupled to the tray (76) by a tether (79). The tray (76) is provided with a web of flexible material (104) which forms a satchel with several pockets of various sizes, for storing a variety of safety devices, including flares (106, EPIRB 108), etc. The satchel can be (15) rolled-up and stowed in the tray (76) ready for use in an emergency situation. An additional embodiment is provided whereby the flotation body comprises two parts that are slidably received by the handles such that the two parts can move between a contracted and an expanded condition allowing access to the storage compartment.