A sailors story

The following was received by the team this week from someone they were recently called too.
They asked us to publicise the incident as their situation could have turned out very differently.

The Team were tasked to Studland. My husband was one of the dinghy sailors involved.

He has been sailing for 47 years and holds a yacht master/coastal sailing qualification.
However, one can never be fully experienced and he realises that he could have become a statistic.
Sailing in an area that he didn't know well he came into difficulties.

He failed to realise how an off-shore wind could affect his sailing abilities.

He feels he should have spoken to local dinghy sailors on the beach.

Also he should have worn appropriate clothing and not his sailing shorts, sailing top and life jacket.

And also double checked that his life jacket was fully zipped up and replaced his knife in his jacket after using it during our bbq on the beach the previous evening.

And, attached his whistle to his life jacket. He realised that at 61 he is not a fit dinghy sailor who can right his boat with ease.

In this event after the third capsize he was too exhausted to get back on board. If it had not been for other sailors on the water I dread to think of the consequences.

He had drifted away from the boat by this stage and I could only watch through binoculars from the beach, at one time seeing just his head and his arm waving to get attention.

He intends to use this horrible experience to alert others at his local dinghy sailing club "to prepare and beware" as things can so easily go wrong.

Both of us wish to thank you for helping on the day. THANK YOU.

Le Kayak

Earlier in the week, we told you about some snacks that one of the team was promoting. 

Well now it seems he has gone one stage further and set up his own canoe hire business, as discovered by our roving reporter on holiday in France.

 

You don't have to go to France to get out on the water this Bank Holiday weekend, with kayaks, row boats and paddle boards available for hire locally in Swanage, Studland and Wareham.  Take care out on the water, check the tides before you go, wear your lifejackets and make sure you have got some working communication - VHF radios are far better at sea than mobile phones!

#999Coastguard

Lifejackets

Lifejackets

Safety Advice at the Beer Festival.

After Saturday nights incident the Initial Response team picked up an extra team member and headed to Studland to monitor the Beer Festival.

It was very busy with the majority enjoying themselves.

We headed to the beach area to see several people trying to get back on their boats but sadly they had forgotten one very important piece of equipment.




Whilst probably not too fashionable in the beer tent , one of these will save your life if you fall out of a boat.

So oddly having driven up the Ferry road very slowly to avoid over 100 cyclists trying to catch the last ferry it was another piece of safety equipment which was lacking that saw the team have to provide some first aid.




Yes a simple set of bike lights .......had the cyclist we saw ride off the road up a bank and flip over into the road, he may have seen the road went slightly to the right.

Having got up complaining there were no street lights in Studland we yet again provided some simple safety advice of how to Stay safe in the Purbeck area and suggested he ride with some other people to ensure he noticed the road in front of him.

( the photos are for demonstration only , there are many types of life jackets and bike lights)

Water Rescue Training

There is only one problem after training with the new water rescue kit......the drying of it.

The new dry suits are super and give us safer capability to enter the water if required.

Lifejackets - do you wear yours?

Speedboat Sinks

The BBC Website describes how our colleagues at Portland MRCC co-ordinated the rescue of a group whose speedboat sank in Bournemouth at the weekend.
Would you take a young child to sea in a small boat with no lifejackets, radio or safety gear?...Somebody did!

Safety Messages

This year we are working hard in several key areas of sea safety.

1) Wearing lifejackets.

Lifejackets are a key safety item when using a boat.  Make sure you wear one and know how it works in an emergency.

2) Dangers of offshore winds and small inflatables.

When visiting a beach, ensure you know the direction of the wind and if you are using an inflatable ensure its close inshore.

3) Drinking alcohol when using the water.

Its a bit like drinking and driving a car, same rules can apply on the water - its a dangerous mix.

Please help us by spreading the word, we want your visit to the coast to be remembered for the right reasons.

Lifejackets

Following the incident at Studland

Maddy Davey, Portland Coastguard Watch Manager said,

We would like to express our deepest sympathy for the family and friends of the deceased at this difficult time. As summer approaches we want all boat users to keep safe when heading out on the water. Please wear your life jacket on deck and when you are on a tender because sadly, these tragic accidents do happen even on short trips.


At Swanage Coastguard and many Coastguard stations around the country, we ask all users of the water to ensure they wear life jackets.

Its not also wearing them that's important, but  knowing how to use them.  Know how to inflate them, ensure they inflate properly and they have a whistle and a light.

If you drive a car you automatically put on your seat belt.......get in the habit of putting your life jacket on when you go out on the water.

This week the MCA published the following report....

There were 95 maritime deaths in the last five years which might have been prevented if those involved had been wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid. These figures were collated following the annual meeting of the Casualty Review Panel in March.

The panel looked at fatal maritime incidents for 2011 and, where there was sufficient information, assessed whether it was probable, possible or unlikely that the person involved could have been saved had they been wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid.

In 2011, the panel judged that of the incidents that they considered, it would have been appropriate for 18 people to have worn some form of buoyancy. Of these, 13 would probably or could possibly have been saved had they been wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid. Between 2007-11 the panel considered 120 fatalities and in 95 of these cases a life could probably or might possibly have been saved had the person involved been wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid.

Commercial fishing and angling are the two riskiest activities where lives might be saved by buoyancy-wear, according to the figures collated by the panel over the last five years.

Transferring between your vessel and the shore is particularly hazardous. Twelve people died boarding or alighting during 2011 and the risk is increased further following alcohol consumption. Eight of these twelve had been drinking before they returned to their vessel. Transferring between a vessel and the shore is a situation where one would not normally be expected to wear a life jacket or buoyancy aid. Further research will be undertaken regarding this issue.

Please don't add to the figures.

What are you doing this weekend?

Stuck for an idea for the weekend? Why not start thinking about your safety equipment for your boat or craft?

A life jacket is probably one of the most important pieces of equipment and its not a lot of good locked or stowed in locker!

When did you last check it? When was it lasted serviced? When did you last actually try it on?

Or perhaps we should just ask.......Have you actually got a life jacket?

Every year people loose their lives as they do not have one or aren't wearing one when it matters.

Take a few minutes this weekend and check yours.

Water Rescue through the ages

Check out the lifejacket

Ready Set Inflate

Mudeford Quay, Dorset....... June 2011

About 60 children and adults inflated their lifejackets en masse at Mudeford Quay, east Dorset as part of the international Ready Set Inflate! event.

prrrrrrrrppppppppp

This did make me laugh when I saw it.