Boy, 14, dies after being hit by speedboat while snorkelling

[ShaneAtSea]

A British teenager died when he was hit by a speedboat while snorkelling in the South Pacific during a round-the-world voyage with his family.

Eddie Jarman and his family had sold their Sussex home in 2018 to sail around the globe.

But on 9 August, the 14-year-old was hit by a speedboat while in the sea off the island of Moorea.

The family, who are raising funds in Eddie's memory, said legal proceedings were under way.

His father Harry, who said he saw the speedboat pass their boat before he realised what had happened, said: "It was panic, chaos and there was a lot of screaming."

Remembering the trauma of that day Eddie's mother, Barbara Genda, said: "It took us at least - I don't know - a minute to actually realise, to accept in our minds, that the person who they were holding in the water, it was our son."

They said the teenager was taken to the shore where he was given first aid by emergency teams, but he could not be revived.

British boy, 14, dies in speedboat crash

 

[Bajansailor]

This is very sad.
However we cannot really offer any opinions or cast any blame until the full story is known.

We have had far too many incidents here (Barbados) involving swimmers / snorkellers and speedboats / jet-skis, including fatalities - when two very different pursuits are both occupying the same stretch of water both parties have to exercise extreme caution, but often caution seems to be thrown to the wind.

 

[markc]

This is very sad.
However we cannot really offer any opinions or cast any blame until the full story is known.

We have had far too many incidents here (Barbados) involving swimmers / snorkellers and speedboats / jet-skis, including fatalities - when two very different pursuits are both occupying the same stretch of water both parties have to exercise extreme caution, but often caution seems to be thrown to the wind.

I saw so many near misses in SoF this summer with swimmers & snorkelers with no marker buoys, swimming out into obvious boating channels and areas where people were water skiing or using tow toys. They are near impossible to see. On the flip side I saw plenty of fast ribs etc zooming into packed anchorages with loads of swimmers. It's pretty terrifying TBH

 

[Hurricane]

Speaking as someone who has been run over in an anchorage, I can see how this happens.
It always seems to me to be a case of poor driving.
People driving RIBs and Jetskis etc just not paying attention to the potential of swimmers.

My case was horrifying.
I was checking our anchor so quite close to the boat.
I surfaced and saw a RIB doing about 10 knots coming straight at me.
I often swim round our boat and am used to the boat's stern bumping into me - I just push off with my hands.
That day, I was also wearing fins so as the RIB contacted me, I pushed with my hands and paddled with my fins.
If I hadn't had the fins, I would have gone right underneath.
As it was, I still went under.
Everything goes in slow motion.
My thoughts were - what about the prop.
Then I saw them - two of them.
Passed me about 2 feet away.
I surfaced and the language that came out of my mouth cant be repeated.
This was in Mallorca so I thought Spanish idiots!!! - I did use the international language expletive beginning with F
The driver then stopped and reversed up.
If I hadn't shouted again, he would have run me down backing up.
Eventually, he came within speaking distance and said in an English voice.
It doesn't matter - I'm an instructor.

So, you can see that after experiences like these, I don't have much time for instructors.

BTW - we always now wear bright yellow T shirts whilst swimming round the boat.

 

[vas]

Eventually, he came within speaking distance and said in an English voice.
It doesn't matter - I'm an instructor.

So, you can see that after experiences like these, I don't have much time for instructors.

BTW - we always now wear bright yellow T shirts whilst swimming round the boat.

so instructors have a licence to kill?

that's nice, NOT...

I try to avoid anchorages where ribs and "professionals" carrying toys skiis etc "work"
not always possible though...

 

[jrudge]

Mallorca has made a decent effort with swim lanes and also jet ski " parks" in the middle of the sea. Not perfect but a start.

The only enforcement in Mallorca is of the damn weed. You can go past the weed man at 40 knots and this is fine - but you can get your chain on a sliver of weed - by all means enforce stuff - but enforce it all!

This year there seemed to be less people screaming through anchorages but it will just be co-incidence - boating volumes were not materially impacted by Covid.

 

[PalmaTarga]

I think Mallorca should consider having some policing in anchorages. It's something they could really cash in on if they could be bothered. I'm not one for removing liberty in people's lives, but at the same time you can see daily lives at risk (mostly of kids) due to jet ski's being run by clueless drunks in anchorages.

Here's a horror story from Es Trenc a couple of years ago that put be off SeaBob's.. Boat propeller hacks off arm and leg of two young tourists in Spain - Olive Press News Spain

 

[jrudge]

That one as I recall was a little bit grey in that the sea bob had no marker and came up in front of the boat ( this is from memory and what was reported at the time).

 

[markc]

That one as I recall was a little bit grey in that the sea bob had no marker and came up in front of the boat ( this is from memory and what was reported at the time).

Funnily enough we were at anchor a few days ago and I was watching a chap with a Seabob (no marker buoy) who was underwater for quite some time and fairly deep, kept popping up all over the place in an area where there were lots of small boats moving about - so dangerous.

 

[Hurricane]

Here's a horror story from Es Trenc a couple of years ago that put be off SeaBob's.. Boat propeller hacks off arm and leg of two young tourists in Spain - Olive Press News Spain

A few years ago, a yachtie friend was anchored in Es Trenc and a JetRIB driver without a kill cord fell out.
The JetRIB ended up wedged in my friend's sailing catamaran.
He was extremely lucky - he was in his tender at the time and got thrown off bruising his arm.
The jetski completely ruined his tender/RIB.
I reported it on here a few days after the incident.
Another yachtie friend insisted on taking him to hospital but he wasn't badly hurt.
The accident was reported to the police but they said that far worse incidents happen.
The JetRIB owner settled all the costs without any questions and they bought my friend a new tender/RIB later in the year.

 

[PalmaTarga]

That one as I recall was a little bit grey in that the sea bob had no marker and came up in front of the boat ( this is from memory and what was reported at the time).

I think you're correct, and that's the issue I see with them. It's not really possible to have markers on them. I saw a close call in Vells last year with a Seabobber heading for the bathing platform of someone trying to drop anchor.

I've never used one and they look like a ton of fun, but should not be anywhere near moving boats.

 

[PalmaTarga]

edit

 

[PalmaTarga]

A few years ago, a yachtie friend was anchored in Es Trenc and a JetRIB driver without a kill cord fell out.
The JetRIB ended up wedged in my friend's sailing catamaran.
He was extremely lucky - he was in his tender at the time and got thrown off bruising his arm.
The jetski completely ruined his tender/RIB.
I reported it on here a few days after the incident.
Another yachtie friend insisted on taking him to hospital but he wasn't badly hurt.
The accident was reported to the police but they said that far worse incidents happen.
The JetRIB owner settled all the costs without any questions and they bought my friend a new tender/RIB later in the year.

that's a very lucky escape!

 

[Zing]

A terrible tragedy.

I was run over once waiting for a pick up after scuba diving. The driver just didn’t see me and ran right over me, my head bouncing on the bottom of the hull, the prop screaming past my ear. He carried on oblivious. I have been very wary since.

I always hate to see people swimming in anchorages more than a little distance from their boats. There are so many dick heads around and this sort of thing will happen again and again.

Only yesterday I was listening to a Kirsty McColl album and got a reminder of this. She was run over and killed by a boat.

 

[Portofino]

You can hear the props buzzing even a fair way off , I tend to surface and look around .
Bit like submarine films with the sonar guy different size / pitch make different noises , the smaller OB s higher pitched .

But there are some nutters who just go through anchorages far too fast in the Med ....usually smaller boats .

Tragic accident

Yes sometimes it’s just too risky to swim away from your boat if it’s busy .

Personally I get everybody up to act as a spotter if we go through an anchorage or are approaching .
Despite buoyed areas for swimmers there’s always some nutter who recklessly (in my view ) swims out side or comes up behind crossing when you are anchoring , = risk of reversing over etc .

Theses people are probably guests with little boaty experience, not experienced boaters .

Out cruising
Also got Kayak ers and SUPs sat down going off shore between island in waves at sun set .
Seeing more of this theses days .
Again I appoint “spotters “ To turn my boat sharply I need to throttle back and slow it down .


They are pretty good in Italy power boats are not allowed within 200 m of the shore except in marked anchorages.

 

[U4]

But there are some nutters who just go through anchorages far too fast in the Med ....usually smaller boats .

Not just in the Med unfortunately The amount of idiots that I have seen this summer hurtling through solent anchorages is unbelievable!

 

[Bajansailor]

Not just in the Med unfortunately The amount of idiots that I have seen this summer hurtling through solent anchorages is unbelievable!

And not just the Med and the Solent - every anchorage in the Caribbean seems to have more than it's fair share of super charged lunatics obsessed with speed, especially when they are rushing to go ashore for happy hour at their favourite bar.

 

[Portofino]

Another .Sadly.
British woman is hit by a speedboat propellor and killed in Greece

 

[Davy_S]

Another .Sadly.
British woman is hit by a speedboat propellor and killed in Greece

Three British nationals being questioned over Corfu speedboat death | Kathimerini