Dinghy to shore drowning

[tudorsailor]

Accidents in one's tender must be like crashing the car within a mile of your own house. Lots of support for this statement such as here Too close to home leads to dangerous relaxation

In addition to this, how many drink more than the legal driving limit before taking charge of a dinghy at night?

TudorSailor

 

[gunman]

Do people really relax and become complacent in their tender? Am I the only one who feels more safe on a boat 22ft or bigger than I do in an 8ft tender?

 

[westernman]

Last year we fished a woman out of the marina who had fallen of the gang plank going from the dock side onto her boat. Her very young daughter was screaming. If we had not been passing at the right moment it might have ended very badly.

Do any of you wear lifejackets on the marina pontoons - especially when returning back to the boat from the nearby restaurant?

The only time I have gone in has been from the marina dock side when trying to unhitch the hosepipe. It was slippering from the leaking water. Fortunately this was high season and there were 100's - yes 100's of people on the dockside to see the huge split and hole that the fall had made in my shorts.

 

[DownWest]

Spent all my early years in boats without LJs, or rarely. More recently, tended to wear one if I had children on board, in case I needed to help them (small boats) Now, I wear one on my small daysailer as I found out, the hard way, that if you are not wearing it to start with, it is a chocolate fireguard if things go wrong. Impossible to get on after you need it, and equally impossible to inflate, if mouth inflated, in choppy water. I now use gas ones, but not auto. Limits your choices in small boats.
DW

 

[GrahamM376]

Must admit, we've just come back aboard in the dark without wearing LJs. Tender is daily transport so I guess we get complacent.

It would be interesting to know what type of dinghy the guy was in - roundtail 1 up = unstable if messing with engine.

 

[gunman]

I'm honestly surprised by opinion on this, my car is daily transport, I still wear a seatbelt.

 

[oldharry]

I was at the Bankses in Studland this morning. Tim, the Landlord was, naturally, devastated having had the crew in his pub just before the accident. There was a lot of wind that night and it was gusting down from the Downs above the bay. the general feeling is that the dinghy may have been 'flipped' by a gust as he returned to the beach.

Studland was in a very sombre mood, and loocal residents were deeply grieved for the casualty, his family and the remaining crew.

 

[dslittle]

There is rarely if ever an excuse for not wearing a lifejacket in a dinghy. It kills more yachtsmen than anything else.

- W

Regardless of the tragic circumstances, this is the ONLY sensible statement. Why not wear a lifejacket?

 

[Seajet]

I've been at Studland riding out gales etc several times.

I feel strongly that something is being missed here; when at anchor there in big winds, ( and yes to Old Harrys' point, the wind does funnel down viciously ) there's usually a line of white water to leeward where shelter ends and there are the strong tides of Poole entrance channel followed quickly by the whole of Poole Bay out to the Needles.

Even if this poor bloke had been wearing a lifejacket and his dinghy flipped, he'd be drifting smartly out into the dark and all I describe above; the LJ would merely delay things unless he could get help.

 

[SAWDOC]

I've been at Studland riding out gales etc several times.

I feel strongly that something is being missed here; when at anchor there in big winds, ( and yes to Old Harrys' point, the wind does funnel down viciously ) there's usually a line of white water to leeward where shelter ends and there are the strong tides of Poole entrance channel followed quickly by the whole of Poole Bay out to the Needles.

Even if this poor bloke had been wearing a lifejacket and his dinghy flipped, he'd be drifting smartly out into the dark and all I describe above; the LJ would merely delay things unless he could get help.

No squabbles please - lets just all recognise that the short trip in the dinghy is the riskiest part of the voyage and take what precautions we can.

 

[Seajet]

SAWDOC,

I don't know what you're on about and I doubt you do either re. squabbles, none here.

 

[jonjo]

No squabbles please

Hey?? He was not contesting another's opinion with a quote. He made a valid point which ties in with TB's earlier post about the danger of a false sense of security engendered by safety equipment.

 

[webcraft]

.
Not wearing a lifejacket because you might still die anyway is like not wearing a seatbelt or m/cycle helmet for the same reason. Illogical.

Dinghy trips in cold water are (relatively) dangerous. Fewer people would die if everyone wore l/js. Hard to see how anyone can argue against that, or why they want to / feel the need to.

- W

 

[gunman]

You could look at it as a Lifejacket would just delay the inevitable or you could look at it as it may give a time window in which to be rescued. However small that window may be I'd prefer to have a small chance than no chance.

I don't want to take anything away from the purpose of this topic, this was a tragic loss. My comments are not aout this particular incident, I am just surprised at opinion on the subject of lifejackets and tenders.

 

[Seajet]

I never said or intended anyone to pervert my message into 'don't wear a lifejacket as you'll die anyway', of course one should wear one.

I was pointing out that it may not have been the instant cure people are assuming, in this tragic case at Studland.

As well as a lifejacket a hand flare, torch, waterproof handheld vhf, anything to get attention is also required.

Climbing into an inflatable from the water fully clothed is nigh on impossile, and rigid tenders can't be righted in the same way as sailing dinghies.

As the crew and relatives of the poor bloke may well read this, I rather think some respect should be shown rather than insulting comments about people not wearing lj's.

 

[Croak]

I've been at Studland riding out gales etc several times.

I feel strongly that something is being missed here; when at anchor there in big winds, ( and yes to Old Harrys' point, the wind does funnel down viciously ) there's usually a line of white water to leeward where shelter ends and there are the strong tides of Poole entrance channel followed quickly by the whole of Poole Bay out to the Needles.

Even if this poor bloke had been wearing a lifejacket and his dinghy flipped, he'd be drifting smartly out into the dark and all I describe above; the LJ would merely delay things unless he could get help.

He may also have had a heart attack, stroke or fit.

 

[DogWatch]

He may also have had a heart attack, stroke or fit.

Another good reason to wear a lifejacket.

 

[Seajet]

Another good reason to wear a lifejacket.

Well it's a good start wearing a lifejacket, but if suffering a heart attack / stroke / fit while floating out into the dark in a very rough huge bay, I still suggest a means of attracting attention is also essential if one can manage it.

A torch is always handy and I always carry a small led job ashore or afloat, but for Mayday situations like this I suggest a day /night hand flare or much better a waterproof handheld VHF would be the real life saver.

Also I'd suggest if one gets the dinghy inverted it should be utmost priority Plan A to swim sideways to the current / wind and get to an anchored boat if at all possible and get help, the difficult decision would be to leave an inverted dinghy to it but it's essential to do so if there's help in sight...

In the case of this desperately unlucky skipper at Studland he was not doing anything other than we've all done, including the most vociferous lifejacket proponents.

In my and most cases I'd suggest we can't leave flares on our tenders, and in such a situation it woud be pure luck if someone saw a flare anyway.

I still don't understand why mobile phones aren't waterproof except very expensive models, so the current answer seems to be a waterproof handheld VHF on a lanyard to the tender operators' lifejacket; a torch is always handy too, I carry a small LED one 24/7 and recommend it.

There was a case a year or two ago of a speedboat which broke down off the South coast, they shone their lighted mobile phones to the shore and someone spotted them, then had the brains to call the coastguard; a remarkably lucky escape for them compared to the subject of this thread who was no doubt an experienced sailor.

 

[Bodach na mara]

It has taken a long time (and this thread) to make me see sense. My wife (a non-swimmer) always wears a LJ in the tender. I seldom do. Only if it is very rough or I am working with the mooring. Indeed my LJ is (like those of many others) in the locker aboard Wight Dawn which is on its swinging mooring.

But, I am reminded by this sad thread of a year (1971 I think) in which 12 people died afloat in the Clyde area. At the time, I argued against these sad events as a justification for regular wearing of LJs. My analysis of the twelve cases "supported" this view. Four people drowned from a tender one wild night in September, but I was in my tender with three other people and survived. So I had a better tender, or was a better oarsman (or most likely just lucky.) Another fell in the Crinan canal. Drink was a factor here, but that also only affects others. I can hold mine, can't I? A fellow member of RGYC died of a heart attack sailing his YW Dayboat alone. Well he would have wanted to go that way, wouldn't we all? There were other "falling into water from the dock" incidents and one man-overboard. Been there, done that and survived.

If there is still anybody that believes that cr4p and thinks that way then I hope then survive as long as I have. But the next time I go afloat, I will be wearing an old Quadrant buoyancy aid that is in the house. And my real LJ will be coming back ashore with me. I am joining my wife in wearing my LJ in the tender. Well most of the time anyway.

 

[Seajet]

If more people wear lifejackets in the tender, hopefully together with a real means of attracting attention if things go pear shaped, the sad death of this skipper will not be in vain, I hope this may be a small comfort to his family and crew...