Hire Boat Swamped By Inconsiderate Boatie

[arpie]

Hi guys

Well, it had to happen - a hire boat was moored out of the 'traffic area' & a much bigger boat that had stopped nearby suddenly zoomed off at great speed in a semi circle, causing the hireboat to be swamped & sunk with 3 people on board. The hireboat was a regular tinnie type - 4 - 5m long (takes 6 people, maybe longer!)

A child was stuck under the submerged boat but was rescued without injury, but very distressed - as were the other people in the boat, not to mention the boat owners! The MSB guys happened upon it by chance and gave assistance - the boat that caused the incident had shot thru without stopping.

In my mind, that is criminal & I hope they check any CCT type satelite footage that may have covered the area to try & identify the offender. I hope they get him & throw the bastard in jail!

Just another inconsiderate boatie out there with no common sense, let alone morals.

Watched another idiot yesterday drive at speed onto a shallow patch that actually had weed showing on the surface! Didn't have a clue where the channel was, didn't have a map or a paddle to assist himself off the sand!

Sorry for the dummy spit, but incidents like this is becoming more prevalent - especially at holiday time

Cheerio

Roberta

[Davemmm]

Problem is to get a boat licence you dont have to sit a d***head test.

More and more dropkicks are going out on the water these days and they have no idea about basic curtesy let alone rules and regs.

[Guest johblow]

This is the season for that sort of behaviour - blokes who get there boats out once a year, and have more $$$ than sense. I cant think of a practical solution, aside from better driver education and stiff fines and better policing.

I see at least one incident that breaches the rules each time i got out, and its usually someone going too fast too close to a boat (which is probably applicable to the story mentioned). All it would take would be an undercover cop boat to sit anchored next to the red channel marker opposite Waratah bay or Jerusalem bay. He'd catch his keep of dickheads for sure...

For example we were anchored in such a place earlier in the week and a dickhead in a powerful tender boat raced between us and the shoreline. Far out - he must NOT know the rules. Isnt it a classic when these boneheads drive past you at 25 knots 10 metres away and wave nicely?!

I would say that some BIA advertising on TV ought to be happening, with some education on safety and courtesy. They used to do ads, but i havent seen one for ages.

[Guest rzep]

Well the boat licencing laws were meant to be toughened with a course and on-water pratical session a requirement to obtain your licence.

My brother inlaw went 2 weeks ago to get his licence and they were told the answers to the test and they were told that the on-water pratical session was only optional and that they didn't have to do it.

As long as people can still obtain their boating licence this way I think, un-fortunately, that occurances like this will keep on happening.

[Flightmanager]

Sadly , as the Holiday Season progresses , we will probably hear more of this sort of thing. Just this morning 1 adult and 2 children were badly burnt when the boat owner tried to start his boat WHILE refuelling.

Ross

[mrmoshe]

Sadly , as the Holiday Season progresses , we will probably hear more of this sort of thing. Just this morning 1 adult and 2 children were badly burnt when the boat owner tried to start his boat WHILE refuelling.

Ross

Yes, here is the story on that boat explosion on the Central Coast today.

A very unfortunate incident which has injured 2 girls.

Pete.

Boat explosion at NSW marina injures two

A boat has exploded at a marina on the NSW central coast, injuring a woman and a young girl, a NSW Ambulance spokesman says.

The incident occurred at the Booker Bay Marina at about 10.30am (AEDT).

A 37-year-old woman suffered burns to her legs and a four-year-old girl suffered burns and singed hair.

The spokesman said both were taken to Gosford Hospital in a stable condition.

Fuel vapour culprit in marina blast, say police

A FAMILY of four had a narrow escape after their motorboat exploded into flames on the New South Wales central coast.

The 6m cabin cruiser went up in flames at the Booker Bay Marina about 10.30am (AEDT) today when the owner turned the ignition key after refuelling.

Fuel vapours and a spark from the ignition are believed to have triggered the slipway blast, police said.

The owner, his wife and their two daughters – aged one and four – escaped the flaming vessel relatively unscathed.

The family, from Sydney's North Shore, were taken to Gosford Hospital, where the 32-year-old woman received treatment for minor burns.

The children were not hurt, but were kept under observation for several hours, while the man escaped injury entirely, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Fire crews worked for more than an hour to contain the blaze, which completely destroyed the boat.

The Waterways authority was investigating the circumstances of the blast.

Edited December 29, 2006 by MallacootaPete

[Guest johblow]

While we are on the topic, there is something else i wanted to mention. The Apple Tree Bay pontoon has been re-done recently, and is pretty much new. But the funny thing is that i noticed a big chunk of the wood laminations that skirt the concrete has been freshly smashed off from the end of the pontoon, on the right hand side when facing the ramp.

It has copped a fair dinkum solid hit from something heavy. There is no way my tinnie could do it, and so im thinking it's another one of our once-a-year friends that really doesnt quite know what they are doing. Tis the season...!

I mentioned in another post that i saw a bunch of people with their new fibreglass beached right up near the grass line of one of the beaches near Ganyah (?) point.

I really do think that some people just dont have the ability to think practically. But, hey, ive tried using a potatoe as a bung substitute, so i guess i shouldnt be too critical...

[namesay]

I hate the holiday season!!! It is bad enough on the water but WORSE at the boat ramp.

Now days it looks like a car park and it is hand to hand combat. It would be real funny if it wasn't so serious. I 've seen so many "incidents"in the last week. Near capsizes, people running into ramps, boats being lost off their trailer....

Saw a lot of people just hogging the ramp. Doing all their stuff , packing up the boat etc while they are on the ramp just watching the huge queue behind them. Can't wait till Feb when all the D$#@heads have gone and peace returns. Cheers kelvin

[Lasty]

Some idot with no idea of the concept of a no wash zone raced past me as I was just pulling in to the Kyeemagh pontoon on last Wednesday. His wake slammed my boat into the corner of the pontoon and now I have a nice dent. One foot more and I would have hit it side on.

It is worse during the holidays but I reckon I see at least one idiot every time we go out!

[sc0pe]

had a nice fellow in a 6 meter or so cuddy cab decide that myself and another boat anchored about 30-35 m apart would make a great slalom at around 50-60kmh today. the worst thing was he was heading dead for me and swerved at last second between us. i was nearly about to throw my gerl overboard i thought that he hadnt actually seen us. the thing that shit me the most was the laugthing i heard when he went past.

i hungaround the boat ramp that he had obviously come from for a couple of hours but alas couldnt find him. prolly lucky for the both os us i reckon...

[Guest DV8]

When will these people realise that boat handling is not just like driving a car on the road. The only people I hate more are the jerkskiers!! the culprits must realise that not only what they did was illegal, but it is also law that you must render assistance to a stricken vessel. the new boat license course is a step inthe right direction but not nearly enough!!

Davo

[gbrown1]

Some idot with no idea of the concept of a no wash zone raced past me as I was just pulling in to the Kyeemagh pontoon on last Wednesday. His wake slammed my boat into the corner of the pontoon and now I have a nice dent. One foot more and I would have hit it side on.

It is worse during the holidays but I reckon I see at least one idiot every time we go out!

Hi Lasty

Do you mean the boat ramp in the Cooks River?

GB

[wyldchyld01]

this whole thread just pings safety out to me, boaters like car drivers def need to be aware of others around them

[arpie]

Hi BJ - I agree with you - it is the simple matter of being considerate of other people on the water, whether they are in the water or on it - powered or non-powered. However, the person in charge of the boat should also have a licence (if it can go faster than 10knots, I think.) That entails knowing the rules.

This is some of the info (edited) from the Waterways 'Safe Boating' pdf, available to download from their website:

Speed: All vessels must travel at a safe speed at all times. A safe speed cannot be expressed as a maximum or minimum number of knots because it varies with circumstances and conditions. The master (driver) must continually assess the safety of the vessel’s speed.

A safe speed is one at which the vessel can be stopped in time to avoid any danger which arises suddenly.

Other vessels – slow down on busy waterways and when near moored or anchored vessels, working vessels showing special signals and large vessels which have difficulties in manoeuvring.

Water depth can vary and change frequently. Not all hazards may be marked or lit, and signs, buoys, marks or lights may have shifted or been vandalised.

If your vessel does not have a speedometer, you must be able to determine if you are exceeding a local speed limit.

For example, if your boat is planing in a restricted speed zone it is likely that you are exceeding the speed limit, so slow down.

Avoiding Collisions: All masters (drivers) must be aware of the International Regulations for Preventing

Collisions at Sea. Don’t confuse the lookout duties of the master with those of the observer when the boat is towing a person on skis, tubes, etc. The master is responsible at all times for keeping a lookout for dangers.

It all seems pretty clear to me - they just don't have enough people on the water, policing them! If they

confiscated the craft of the offending person, perhaps that would give the desired result!

Cheerio

Roberta

Edited January 8, 2007 by Roberta