Lessons learned!

JamesTT

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Further to the recent posts regarding embarrassing problems and learning from making mistakes, I now want to share an experience that scared the life out of me last month.

On a beautiful Saturday in early June my wife, daughter and I decided to spend a day off a beach near our home marina in North Wales with our jet ski.
My wife drove the jet ski off the floating pod in the marina into the river and around to the bay, I followed with our 10 year old daughter in our 28ft sports cuddy.
We spent a terrific 3 or 4 hours in the bay taking turns with our daughter on the ski, using the boat as a pontoon and had a picnic lunch with the ski tied up to the anchored boat.
During lunch on the boat my daughter happened to be sitting at the helm and asked me what the curly red cord was for that hung from under the dash, she had the end of it in her fingers, I explained it was the kill cord and what it did.
My wife headed back to the marina, just after high water, it took me some time to tidy the boat up and stow the anchor.
I headed back again with my daughter in the boat, at a fair pace in an effort to catch up my wife on the ski.
We rounded the perch mark entering the river, about half a mile up from the marina entrance, I throttled back to idle speed to head up the river, no sign of the wife.
The tide was now running out of the river, I straightened the boat up and asked my daughter to keep the boat ahead whilst I sorted the fenders and warps, something we have done many times before.
I went to fix the rear fender on the starboard side, leant around the arch resting my hand on the gunwale. I suddenly lost my balance as my hand slipped off the wet surface. I rolled over the sun pad that covers the engine hatch down the back of the boat onto the swim platform and into the water. As I entered the water I felt a sharp pain to my foot and ankle and realised I must be very close to the prop as I could feel the bubbles from the prop wash on my face and body.
My jacket inflated and I popped up quite quickly to see the boat travelling up the river, with my daughter knelt in the helm seat facing back towards me and by now about 50 feet away.
I couldn't move my leg but knew that the biggest problem was that the boat must be stopped. I shouted for Molly, my daughter to pull the lever back, she shouted back which lever, the boat was still moving away and I realised that the next shout had to count, somehow, I remembered she had asked me about the kill cord earlier, I screamed at her to pull the red cord several times, pull the red cord!.
The relief when I heard the engine die was immense.
With the situation now under control my thoughts turned back to my leg, I slowly slid my hand down from the knee and was very relieved to feel my foot and toes, although it was still dead and I couldn't move from my knee down.
I started to swim towards the boat, but was struggling to close the gap against the outgoing tide and my dead leg.
Several sailing yachts passed me in the river, but I knew that it would be difficult to get on a yacht and then onto my boat so I kept swimming.
A jet ski came up from behind me, I was expecting it to be my wife but it was two young lads, they asked me if the flip flops they had passed further out to sea were mine and they offrered to go back and get them!.
I told them to forget about the flip flops and asked for a tow to my boat which I then pointed out, it suddenly dawned on me that they thought I was just out for a swim, once near the boat and on seeing a 10 year old alone on board they realised the gravity of the situation, I can't remember if I thanked them or not now, but I would not have made it without them!
I dragged myself and my dead leg on board and hugged Molly, she had kept calm and composed up until this point.
We floated around in the river for 10 minutes whilst I composed myself and comforted Molly. I started the boat and headed back to the marina, to find my wife dry and changed at our berth.

Several lessons learned for me here, particularly to stop the boat completely when fixing fenders, always to wear a life jacket, ( I would not normally have had it on, but we had been on the ski ), familiarising everyone with the controls. I have been through the basics with my wife should I ever be injured but the situation of my daughter being alone in a moving boat had never crossed my mind.
 

Coupe

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Jeez Jim,

My blood has turned cold reading this. Fair play to ye for keeping calm in a very scary situation.

Lessons for me here too I must confess.

How is the foot ?
 

Nautorius

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Jeez James,

That sounds awful. Given that all my kids learn boat handling in an inflatable with the kill cord around their wrists I would hope they would know what to do, but in a panic situation who knows. You were very lucky and well done to the little one!

A vital lesson learnt! I also often let my 9/10 year old drive at slow speeds whilst I sort out fenders etc. Mind you he is keener on doing them now he is older! I think I will let him in future!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 

Pinnacle

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My guess is you will always now wear your lifejacket......

Delighted you survived to tell the tale, and well done for the "chance" coaching that helped to stabilise the situation.

Hope the leg/foot has recovered.
 

Kawasaki

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Crikey James!!!
Sobering Post.
Good wake up call for Us all.
I also add Well Done Molly!

Incedently I heard a "Pan Pan" call Yesterday from a Yachtsman in the Channel, a bit further out from where You were, engine failure and drifting (wind must have been in the wrong direction) towards the sandbanks.
However He sounded quite calm and efficient, the Coastgaurd monitored on 16 and I think someone from the Marina towed Him to safety.
Not a place to take a swim!!
Phew, glad all was ok, what a lesson.
K
 
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Sobering story, JamesTT. I hope your young Molly got an awful big present for having the common sense to save you and your boat. Did the prop hit your leg or was it just the propwash?
 

JamesTT

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The foot is much better now, but was very painfull for two or three weeks afterwards, not quite sure what I banged it on to tear the ligaments or cut my toe, but I am sure now that it wasn't the prop or this could have been whole different story. I appreciate your understanding, I have been thinking about posting this for a while!
 

Sixpence

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Well I'm glad you did post it , I had a bit of a shudder when I read it with a touch there , but for the grace of ..... . Good to hear you're okay though
 

Coupe

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Yes, I agree.

It was a good post and a wake up call for others (like me) who get a bit too confident for our own good.

Excellent post Jim.

Look on the bright side - at least you don't need a new prop /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Sneds

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"at least you don't need a new prop"

Or a new leg! (?)

thanks for the posting, has certainly made me think about a few things. Glad you're all ok and WELL DONE MOLLY!
 

contessa26

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A most excellent thread - thanks very much. One of those threads that makes it worth reading the fora... Well done for posting!
"There for the grace of... etc...", and all that.

Glad your injuries are better too...
 

sb99

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Well done Molly and the Boys on the Jet Ski.

Sounds a very frightening experience but glad it turned out ok in the end.

Steve
 

Alistairr

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Cricky, what a scary experience, i too am glad you wrote it, and I'm sure there must be others on here with similar stories to tell, like i did a few weeks ago,,, Thread Here.
C'mon own up guys, its confessional time!

Molly did very well, would you concider putting her through a Powerboat Level 1, basic handling course? I think you need to be a certain age for the Level 2 but not sure about level 1.

Glad all are ok, and the foot is healing.

Cheers

Al.
 

Major Catastrophe

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She's a heroine, but then, ten year olds do have a habit of doing the right thing in a crisis. Must admit I am a lifejacket wearer and always stop to adjust the fenders. Escargot says you should wear your kill cord, but you can't when you are adjusting fenders. I will admit that I don't wear my kill cord as I can't fall upstairs and out of my wheelhouse and I don't leave the wheelhouse when the boat is moving.

A lucky escape and lessons learned, particularly that wives on jet skis are next to useless! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 

AdeOlly

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Very sobering and thanks for posting. Always been a fear of mine falling off with just the little one on board. I will triple check my engines are in neutral before doing deckwork from now on, and never skip the lifejacket either.

Molly's a hero and glad you're okay.
 
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