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 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...rvey-says.html 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?

[michaelchapman]

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.