Irrational fear.....

G

guyd

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 May 2009
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208
Location
Minehead
bossingtonhall.co.uk
It’s silly, but I’m concerned that at high speed and in low population waters (Bristol channel)I’m going to hit something submerged (shipping container, railway sleeper etc). My boat isn’t double skinned, and doesn’t appear to have any inbuilt bouancy.

In reality, what happens in such circumstances? Do we sink? How long? Looking at survival rates, and water temperature, I’ve got about an hour before I’m dead. My 7 yr old son considerably less I suspect.

I want to take him out exploring, but some of this fear is holding me back. When I was a teenager, I didn’t wear a life jacket in the English Channel hooning about without a care. My experience with a near fatality (a subject of bbc 999 programme #1 Manchester moons ago in Salcombe) possibly changed this. And becoming a dad.

Life jackets. dsc radio fixed. Non dsc handheld. Plb on order? Is a life raft or similar pointless? It’s a long way between harbours here....
 
What boat do you have?

Personally I get a great deal of security from having a liferaft and an epirb.

At the end of day, boat sinkings are pretty rare but in my mind I have somewhere else to go and a way to instantly raise the alarm with just the 2 items above.

Yes I have fixed vhf, handheld vhf,extinguishers,inform coastguard for long passages, flares etc.... but the raft and epirb are last resort stuff and quick

Life jackets of course but best to stay out the water if you can :)
 
Guy, your first sentence say it all. In any endeavor speed kills. So the obvious thing is to take it slow until you feel more confident, you can still have fun on the water at low speed. Being cautious isn’t generally considered irrational, especially if it makes you get all the safety equipment and you check it all works. If, after that, you still feel an irrational fear and that it’s debilitating then you can do something about yourself. First would be training for recognized certification including man overboard drills. After that there are other kinds of help, for example hypnotherapy, psychology etc.
But in my mind being cautious, even overly cautious is a good thing. For example I don’t take children on my boat
 
It's not an irrational fear and you're always wise to ask 'what if?', but it's extraordinarily rare. It's a little like worrying about the flight whilst putting yourself in 10 times the potential danger whilst driving to the airport.

A liferaft is the obvious 'get out of jail' but they are expensive, need servicing and will take up a lot of space in a small boat. A dinghy, ideally partially inflated, gives a good compromise in that it still takes up space but at least it is useful in a non emergency way (obviously you hope that a liferaft never will be useful!) and it's cheaper. PLB and a handheld VHF plus lifejackets obviously.

It's not as effective as a liferaft, but as a way of being able to step off, it's way better than nothing.
 
guyd said:
It’s silly, but I’m concerned that at high speed and in low population waters (Bristol channel)I’m going to hit something submerged (shipping container, railway sleeper etc). My boat isn’t double skinned, and doesn’t appear to have any inbuilt bouancy.

In reality, what happens in such circumstances? Do we sink? How long? Looking at survival rates, and water temperature, I’ve got about an hour before I’m dead. My 7 yr old son considerably less I suspect.

I want to take him out exploring, but some of this fear is holding me back. When I was a teenager, I didn’t wear a life jacket in the English Channel hooning about without a care. My experience with a near fatality (a subject of bbc 999 programme #1 Manchester moons ago in Salcombe) possibly changed this. And becoming a dad.

Life jackets. dsc radio fixed. Non dsc handheld. Plb on order? Is a life raft or similar pointless? It’s a long way between harbours here....
Click to expand...
We were based in Portishead for several years. As long as you know what the tides are doing, and are vigilant of shipping in and out of Avonmouth, it is as safe as anywhere. Life raft probably too bulky for your boat? VHF imperative. Lifeboat deploys all tides. Just enjoy.
 
I think it's best to be rationaleabout things like this, the scenario you describe could happen,but I would hazard a guess that the likelihood is tiny. You're probably more at risk of a serious car accident driving to the boat, or a multitude of other mishaps.

Are there many reports of boats being sunk due to the scenario you describe in your area? I'd guess not.

But if it makes you feel better I guess you could fit a small life raft ,but it would take up a fair amount of space. Other options are dry suits to keep you warmer for longer,but they're not fun to wear all the time.


What about a small inflatable tender , prob takes a lot of space, but has multiple uses.

Life jacket , epirb,handheld vhf ,would be useful in this scenario.
 
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You should know you own waters .
A tidal river with flood risk area s is more likely to have damaging / holing - debis that should not be there ,more so after a severe weather event .
Whack a hole in the bow or under it at speed you won,t have time to phaff with the radio and calmly call for assistance before you get very wet .
That leaves somthing to step into

As said a dingy allready ready - grab bag with ERIB as well as other stuff
Or / and a liferaft ,a small 4 man is 26 kg s


We currently have a 10P liferaft and Two ERIB,s in the Med .
One self actuates if it gets wet - ie boat sinks - can be manually activated too .
My fear rational or irrational is that Sod’s law with gadgets means if I had 1 it would not work so have two , the other one needs manual actuation

I just tell folks in the safety briefing - if ought happens like the boat sinks just activate theses and a helicopter will come and get you .
Liferaft s there too .

Common sense
We too get storms - Côte d Azur and crap washed down the rivers .
The water turns a murky brown and you can see logs semi submerged.
It’s not unheard of for cars too .

So in these conditions we pootle , until things clear up - more thinking twanging the stern gear
 
I would like to add, if money is no object, then an unsinkable craft like a Boston Whaler (there are cheaper makes) could make boating less stressful
 
As said, I haven’t heard of any boats being sunk in my area, hence the irrational statement, it’s not based on factual evidence that it’s statistically likely!

I bought a fast boat as the tides here hit 7 knots easily, and to get anywhere (eg Barnstaple) is 4 hours at full whack. And a full tank of fuel! My last boat, a Colvin 20, wouldn’t go more than about 5 knots... so went backwards.... but I filled it up probably twice.

I have a 3 man inflateable kayak that is for the swim platform. Maybe I should inflate it....... The idea being to paddle inshore and have a pint or two. Or a bbq on the beach with sprog. He’s a sensible chap, and I have explained and shown him all the emergency procedures (ie press button on radio, stop engines etc)
 
guyd said:
I have a 3 man inflateable kayak that is for the swim platform. Maybe I should inflate it....... The idea being to paddle inshore and have a pint or two. Or a bbq on the beach with sprog. He’s a sensible chap, and I have explained and shown him all the emergency procedures (ie press button on radio, stop engines etc)
Click to expand...

Not sure about the inflatable kayak, even if it's already set up and ready; I'd be concerned about the seakeeping when not inshore.

If that makes you feel more comfortable, you should definitely consider a small bagged life raft for four people, some are not that bulky. Throw it overboard (don't forget to tie the line first though), wait a few seconds, and voilà.
 
Get the most recent charts and the Notices to Mariners to give the best chance of finding known obstacles. After that it is keeping your eyes peeled and statistics. You may have crossed the line between caution and paranoia however and rationalising the situation may improve your perspective.
You are right to be concerned about safety and using your imagination to find perils - I wonder how many even think twice about it.
I have been thinking about a pre-trip safety audit that makes me get essential items to hand not stuck in a locker somewhere. Thanks for the memory jog!
 
I dont think it's an irrational fear. I do think it's one that can be managed as stated above. Even your insurance makes a distinction as to how fast your vessel can travel. If you are doing 20 knts or so and keeping a good lookout you should be able to see the vast majority of objects big enough to hole you in sufficient enough time to take avoiding action, less so at 30 knts plus. It's not hard and fast though, plenty still get tied up in poorly marked pot buoys for instance, but you have to wonder, just how good a lookout were they keeping, after all, even though ~20 knts is fairly quick on the water it is relatively slow in terms of actual speed and our ability to react to cues even given a boat is much slower to respond than say a vehicle. Also always take into account the sea state and wave height. What you cant see hidden behind a wave you cant react to. Set speed accordingly.
 
Remember that dsc vhf will continue to transmit your position every few minutes till all power is lost or antenna submerged once you press the red button even without the faff of a voice call, I find it very comforting to know, I also have a handheld dsc charged and ready to go.
If space is available a liferaft is also very comforting and possibly the best thing you can waste your money on, I hope never to get good value from mine.
 
If I understand you correct your concern is that the boat actually sinks because it has not enough bouancy.
You can make the boat "unsinkable" by adding expandable foam. Two different liquids will be blended, and it will expand. Ideally it should be under the decks as this will also Keep boat upright even if full of water, but could as well be used to fill other empty spaces.
 
piratos said:
If I understand you correct your concern is that the boat actually sinks because it has not enough bouancy.
You can make the boat "unsinkable" by adding expandable foam. Two different liquids will be blended, and it will expand. Ideally it should be under the decks as this will also Keep boat upright even if full of water, but could as well be used to fill other empty spaces.
Click to expand...

Not for the DIY'er surely. I have visions of it over expanding and causing the boat to burst. I know it's quite common for fast fishers to remove the foam because it has the tendency over time to soak up water causing all host of issues and replace it with toy pit balls
 
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