Dinghy to shore drowning

While against compulsion as skippers I think we need to set an example. I request all my crew wear a LJ except if it gets in the way of a sun tan and I insist if we reef.

Experience and learning from others does improve our safety thinking though.

Many years ago I considered MOB a small risk but always carried mini flares in my pocket on any X channel yet I must admit to then still being lax about wearing LJ's and hooking on with a safety harness. Yet conversely if I went up the mast I have always had one line to hoist and a spare kept with a little slack - just in case. Not sure what the biggest risk when sailing really is but suspect our perception of risks could be in error.

It was a few years ago that I decided I should always wear a LJ as an example to crew.

Last years change of sailing practice was when I took out a friend and was surprised how much he was constantly looking through my binnoculars on a Xchannel.

I decided that in future I will use binnoculars more (bought Stieners) and not rely on my fairly good distance eyesight and hopefully keep a better lookout in addition to wearing the LJ.

What will 2012 change for you in sailing/safety habits and what do you consider the biggest risk sailing - apart from the morning headache from imbibing too much the night before!
 
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oldharry said:
Now where is my LJ? On board in its locker. I almost certainly would have done the same as him on the short trip ashore in Studland to pick up crew, particularly with an inflatable to provide positive buoyancy anyway. In fact very often have. Its never as safe as it seems....
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I keep a buoyancy aid with the oars and rowlocks. Just checked. They're only £25 and warm as toast. I think they're a better bet for short trips in a dinghy. I can't see myself climbing onto a pontoon wearing an inflated life jacket. As I tend to arrive at the boat after midnight there's unlikely to be anyone around to help.

PS: Just realised there's no whistle on by buoyancy aid!
 
Ruffles said:
PS: Just realised there's no whistle on by buoyancy aid!
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No light or spume visor either, and it won't support you if cold shock or some other medical condition hits, but the freedom to swim and climb things is a good point, buoyancy aids also make good 'body armour' against knocks and say climbing over a sharp edged gunwhale or pontoon, really depends where one is.

I wonder how many people know, and brief their crews, that the cap on the oral inflation tube usually has a projection specifically for inserting into the tube end and deflating the lifejacket when required...
 
At the risk of coming across as a right prick, the rnli advised me not to store inflatable lj's on the boat. This was at an event beside my club last summer where a very friendy guy spent half an hour chatting to me and my family about boat safety. I'm glad he did as I hadn't checked the date on the auto mech on all the jackets and found them all out of date, albeit only just.

His reasoning was that the bladders will stay in good order longer if stored at home in the warm and dry. I suppose it depends on your boat and where she's moored. Mine is on a lake in one of coldest, damp counties in all of Ireland I suppose.
 
Taking the lifejackets home also means there's no excuse not to wear them going to & fro in the tender !

For the last season and to date I've used older but good quality auto Crewsaver 250 newton LJ's in the dinghy to take the wear, keeping my new Kru's in their rather handy plastic packs ( a real plus point actually ) on board.

It does lead to a profusion of lifejackets on board, but I'd rather that than somehow be caught without any, also it caters for extra people coming along, or a spare if a LJ gets activated for whatever reason.

The different types are easily distinguished as the Crewsavers are red and Kru's are blue, and in their packs.
 
I think we should make more of distinction based on individual circunstanstances, instead of anouncing blanket rules. I consider myself a very careful on responsible boat owner, but rarely wear a lifejacket in the tender. I also cannot recall seeing anyone in the last several years wearing one ( other than children) in the waters I sail.
Why
The water is warm I could easily swim to shore or back to the boat and there are very few currents. I am healthy, with good balance, my yacht is very easy to board, with a large platform just above the water. When returning to the boat my wife generally greets me to help transfer groceries etc. My tender is an RIB and is quite stable. I use the tender most days so I am well practiced getting in and out.

It needs to be remembered that there are countless things we can do or buy, that that would make a minor difference to safety. Like all boat owners I don't use, or have, all the possible equipment just because it would be slightly safer.
Just as an example we don't wear, or even have crash helmet on board, but I know personally of two people that have sustained very serious head injuries sailing and there was a fatal tragedy in the ARC several years ago when an experienced skipper hit is head on winch.
As responsible adults we should be able to weigh up the risks. The chance of me drowning on a trip in the tender is very small and I do not think a LJ is justified, in the same way I do not wear a crash helmet, or carry a defibrillator, satalite phone, etc etc.

One of the problems of the Internet is that it's easy to forget it reaches a very wide audience. Blanket statements like" always wear a lifejacket in the tender" are often appropriate in the conditions where the author sails, but these "rules" are not necessary true in other areas and for all individuals.
Australian salors would say "always wear a hat, sunscreen and shirt in the tender" Good advice, but not appropriate for the UK in winter.

BTW the last time I wore my lifejacket in the tender was almost 12 months ago and it inflated with the large amount of spray.
 
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Me and my mate pulled a couple out the water a few weekends ago in Gosport. Their tender had flipped after the outboard steering jammed and the tender went under the Hardway pontoon inverted. They were clinging on the end of the pontoon by their fingernails shouting for help in a running tide. If they'd let go, next stop would have been Bembridge. Pretty sobering for all concerned...:eek:
 
Iain C said:
Me and my mate pulled a couple out the water a few weekends ago in Gosport. Their tender had flipped after the outboard steering jammed and the tender went under the Hardway pontoon inverted. They were clinging on the end of the pontoon by their fingernails shouting for help in a running tide. If they'd let go, next stop would have been Bembridge. Pretty sobering for all concerned...:eek:
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Were they wearing lifejackets?

- W
 
webcraft said:
Were they wearing lifejackets?

- W
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Some people keep repeating the same old mantra...along with bobbing along in your lifejacket you'll need a means of attracting attention, yes YOU ! A waterproof handheld VHF and a waterproof torch ( useful on shore too ) seems the best bet...
 
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Seajet said:
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.
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erm...
 
I have a friend who misses her dad soooo much, and as she goes through her life almost every day she thinks of things she would have liked to have shared with her daddy, her first hero.

And every day she worries about her mum who has become so very introverted and unsocial since she lost her childhood sweet heart and her rock.

He would still be here if he had worn his LJ in his tender, but like some on here he was super gung-ho about the need to wear a life jacket. I can hear him now as he trotted out all his "excuses" regularly for not wearing it, and i often wonder if they went through his head as he tried to live in his last few moments.

Please everyone, use them.
 
Comrade Red said:
He would still be here if he had worn his LJ in his tender
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Not wishing to cause offence but being devils advocate.
The wearing of the lifejacket would not have guaranteed such an outcome. It may have increased his chances or it may have made recovery of the body easier.
Others factors come into play. i.e. Crotch straps. Without which he may have slipped out of his LJ as his body became limp to the cold. etc etc
 
I wonder what happens if the dinghy is tethered to a second or even third dinghy ie one either side. or some form of floats acting as stabilizers each side of the dinghy

If done well it would not capsize ?

Again lifejackets yes

Though now as i read on another thread only a day ago a very good idea is a bright light source on the lifejacket, there are "cool" rated L.E.D.s (light emmitting diodes). These could flash.

I think there should be a vertical extension at the back of the jacket to host the led/s above the head so they can be seen clearly.

Also rfid chips could help the coastguard zero in on your location and who wouldnt want to be found quickly ?

I think we have a lot of good tech already to use as is.

As cold is a killer im seriously considering a dry suit at all times.


RIP this poor man, my condolences to his Family.
 
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webcraft said:
We are specifically talking about the UK here, where the water is cold and people tend to be wearing a lot of clothing.

- W
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Talk about generalisation!!
I went out to the boat at the weekend - trousers and shirt ... shoes that would slip off ... yes this is in the UK - just the opposite end to you!

I swam with more than that on a couple of days previous!
 
Seajet said:
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...
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Well said - lets face it they are no more cumbersome than a body warmer these days - in fact you can even get them built into a nice sailing jacket if your trip to the pub requires a degree of sartorial elegance.

I must admit that for many years we never wore LJ's - in fact even in the early 90's when I did all the RYA training we knew where they were but they only came out in the dark or extreme conditions.

How times have changed - since the kids came along we all wear them all the time - and good quality auto ones with all the bells and whistles - well lights & whistles anyway !

Kids have never known any other way and when a 10 year old instinctively & innocently asks why someone isn't wearing one I have yet to hear any adult come up with a decent answer - or any answer for that matter !
 
Al Dickson said:
How times have changed - since the kids came along we all wear them all the time - and good quality auto ones with all the bells and whistles - well lights & whistles anyway !

Kids have never known any other way and when a 10 year old instinctively & innocently asks why someone isn't wearing one I have yet to hear any adult come up with a decent answer - or any answer for that matter !
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My Dad is 88 and still fighting fit; he was a Leading Air Mechanic in WWII and describes some awful scenes re. aircraft trying to land on carriers ( he's now on tape at the Imperial war Museum ) but I have to be really stern with him to put a lifejacket on in the tender, he thinks it's 'just for fairies' and I'm over-cautious !

If one persists though he'll wear it if only to shut me up, this may be a guideline for dealing with recalcitrant crew...
 
LJs are essential, and this accident has highlighted that once again, but as Seajet and others have commented, they do not GUARANTEE survival. They improve the chance of survival, by a long way, but we should be no less vigilant just because we are wearing them.

The Studland accident was overshadowed in the press by the tragic death of a father and son in the boating accident on the River Avon. Again our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends.


On this occasion both WERE wearing LJs.
 
So, we (at least I am) are converted. We use our preferred buoyancy device when in the dinghy.
If I buy one of these waterproof phones, which number am I going to have on fast-dial? The pub I have just left will be full of useful types maybe, and it is nearby, the CG is (soon to be) centralised somewhere and will have to call a man-in-a-van. The clubhouse -anyone there?
OK if you're part of a group/crew, but what if you're on your own?
Mini flares http://www.safety-marine.co.uk/distress-flares/p3205s11/pains-wessex-mini-flare-kit.htm are a possibility, is there anything better around? These and other mini flares seem to need to be assemled onto a launcher before use, which may not be easy under some circumstances. Wonder if the old fashioned mini flares are still available anywhere?
 
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