deaths in solent!

goochie

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Not a very cheery one I know, but interesting all the same. Did anyone else read the report on MBY.com about deaths in the Solent in 2004. Total was 47, but report also highlighted the very high number of suicides nationally. Does anyone know how many of these death and indeed call-outs for serious injury are for your average well prepared and competent skipper, and how many are made up of drunk, suicide, heart attack/stroke (could happen anywhere), violence by another person etc.

I travel on the M25 quite a bit, which is of course dangerous as hell, but it's good to know what your dealing with.
 

jhr

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I don't know if this applies to the Solent, but I believe that the vast majority of deaths "at sea" would more accurately be described as deaths from the shore, because they are mostly drownings of swimmers who have got into difficulty, suicides, people jumping in to save their dog etc. If you add on strokes, heart attack etc, I reckon it would provide most of the total.

I suspect most people (and I stress, most) who go sailing are alert to the risks and dangers inherent in what they are doing. You can never legislate against malevolent fate, but I'd be suprised if more than a handful of the deaths in the Solent were of people who fell off their boat.
 

Talbot

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Last time I saw the figures (some few years ago), once you had broken them down properly (as opposed to the standard wide generalities used by spin doctors), it was actually more likely that you would drown in your own bath than from your yacht. This may have changed as more people these days take a shower than use a bath.

For those very few on the mobo forum who have a bath in their boat, consider this - you are doubling your chance of drowning! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

gjgm

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there was a comment last year. Cant recall the number of UK deaths applicable.. 140 or so. But it turned out most were cars driven into rivers (sadly relevant today) and other non boating related tragedies. In fact, boating related deaths was a tiny percentage of the headline. I suppose we should also bear in mind that even that number would be higher if it wasnt for those rescue services who put out to sea in foul conditions, or to save those who foolishly ignore safety warnings/forecasts. Bad luck can hit us all of course-maybe that is a more relevant statistic to know?
 

duncan

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Re: the report......

MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY RELEASE SEARCH AND RESCUE STATISTICS FOR 2004

The MCA today released its search and rescue figures for 2004.

Regrettably, the total number of recorded deaths is up on last year. However, the bulk of the increase is accounted for by suicide cases (up by 50%) and by the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers tragedy (which accounted for 21 deaths from a single incident).

Without those 21 deaths, other fatalities from direct marine accidents would have fallen significantly. A breakdown of the figures is shown below.

The numbers of people getting into difficulty and being assisted or actually rescued also fell by 13%. However hoax calls to the Coastguard were up from a recorded 232 in 2003 to 301 in 2004.

The figures are as follows:

2003 2004

Total reports to the Coastguard: 13,849 14,240
Total occasions of assistance rendered: 8,070 8,056
Total numbers of persons assisted 25,118 21,600
(but not life threatening situations)
Total number of persons rescued (where life at risk): 5,689 5,276
Total recorded deaths (excluding suicides): 198 188

Of the fatalities recorded by the Coastguard:

• 96 were maritime-related
• 92 were recovered bodies

There were 176 suicides, or suspected suicides, in 2004 (118 in 2003)

Operations Director and Chief Coastguard, John Astbury said upon release of the figures:

“Accidents will always happen, and I would reiterate our message that no one should hesitate to contact HM Coastguard if they are in the slightest doubt about their own safety or the safety of others.

"There has been increased reporting from the general public and this is good news, given our efforts both to raise awareness of the Coastguard and its services, and encourage people to alert the Coastguard as quickly as possible, which can often lessen the severity of the outcome. It is encouraging that fewer people got into difficulty and needed our help in 2004, although, sadly, there has also been a rise in the number of suicides this year.

“I remain concerned that there continues to be a rise in the number of hoax calls. We are working with the other Emergency Services, to make use of advances in technology which will improve our ability to trace these calls and provide evidence to the Police for future prosecutions.”



For the Solent region :-

Total Incidents 1561
Assistance Rendered 1036
Hoaxes 38
Number assisted 2233
Number rescued 344
Lives Lost 47


For the Portland Region :-

Total Incidents 1016
Assistance Rendered 283
Hoaxes 25
Number assisted 416
Number rescued 214
Lives lost 12
 

goochie

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Re: the report......

Thanks for all that useful info - rather as I suspected. I fear the same can be said of road statistics. Apparently in Scotland the death rate is going up again because they have so many cameras that they have started taking cops off the road. Unfortunately the cameras only catch peeps like you and I who just get a bit eager sometimes, and not the drunks/druggies/stolen/no tax/no insurance/joyride brigade who actually cause most of the accidents. In all the headline figures about road accidents I'd like to see the breakdown (!) of the percentage caused by sober, insured, taxed, non-suicidal owner drivers who are doing 10mph over the top.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not making light of road accidents (my wife's brother died in one, and so did one of my friends), but we really need to see the details - not just the headlines.
 
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