_ Small lifeboats are better than no lifeboats. Why do they have life preservers? When the Lusitania sank in the Irish Sea and many passengers didn’t know how to put on their life jackets, they would have been glad to have personal lifeboats. The water was warmer than usual. Many were in the water for hours holding onto bric-a-brac and planking. Boats from Queenstown came out to round them up. Obviously my interest in sailing is academic. I’d like to sail just to get more details for my novels.