Another killcord accident

[Nos4r2]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11117566

A father and son have been injured after being thrown from their boat off the coast of Cornwall.

Brixham Coastguard said the two men, aged 41 and 25 and from Stoke-on-Trent, were then run over twice by the boat's outboard motor.

The alarm was raised by members of the public who witnessed the accident at Pentewan Sands, near Mevagissey.

The father and son suffered serious head and leg injuries and were taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

The father was airlifted by helicopter, while his son was transferred by land ambulance.
Continue reading the main story


They are believed to be in a serious but stable condition.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the men were thrown from their 17ft (5m) dory at about 1520 BST.

Spokesman Nick Ratcliff said: "It seems the vessel had somehow hit the bottom and thrown both father and son out, and the uncontrolled boat had then circled, hitting them both twice.

"They had both been hit by the boat's propeller.

"We urgently recommend to boaters that the kill cord [which cuts the engine if pulled] be attached around your leg or securely to your personal buoyancy aid.

"In either case it should not foul the steering or gear controls."

The MCA said the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has been informed and the boat taken away for investigation.

[Mollers]

We heard this one 'going off' this afternoon. The guy I work with is a member of Falmouth CG cliff rescue. His pager is tuned to zero, he also has a base set in his LR which we switched on. We thought it was serious as those involved were instructed to phone through details rather than pass them on over the air as the press monitor zero.

[Poly]

Slightly more information in the MCGA press release: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga07-...BF7&m=8&y=2010

[C2 RIBS]

Another avoidable terrible accident- I note "The weather on scene was a calm sea, good visibility and light winds." We all know how quickly an incident happens and see other peoples misfortunes to highlight it.

Yesterday we were out and saw some three RIBs in the Solent with helms not wearing any killcords and a couple of clowns in a "fletcher" type speedboat screaming up The Hamble I guess at 15knots with no lifejackets. They were annoyed when we asked them to slow to 5-6knots due to refuelling berth and other craft!

I dont know what else the coastguard and harbour guys can do to get the message out.

[willk]

Originally Posted by C2 RIBS

I dont know what else the coastguard and harbour guys can do to get the message out.

Compulsory Licensing and Training as per the "Mainland" and big fat penalties thereafter...



To be fair to all involved, it IS possible that they simply forgot to attach the cord. I certainly have a few times until I modified the setup a bit...

[tonymac]

Originally Posted by willk

To be fair to all involved, it IS possible that they simply forgot to attach the cord. I certainly have a few times until I modified the setup a bit...

Unfortunately its too easy done. How did you mod the set up Willk?

[Cypman]

Unfortunately, some of our kind appear to have a death wish. I bet they are the same kind of people who don't use seatbelts and use mobile phones whilst driving!!
All we can do is continue to publicish these sad accidents and reinforce the use of lifejackets and killcords.......unless,of course, the UK government introduces some sort of mandatory qualification.
Ducks under incoming bullets.

[neilda]

Terrible.... I hope they both make a recovery. It must have been the most awful thing.

As most of you know, this happened to me (chucked out and not wearing a kill cord), so I read this type of story with a real chill running through me - and I'm normally a sensible fellow.

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Now we have top mount controls, not side mount with the lock at neutral I worry that an unsuspecting passenger will knock the throttle when I'm letting go of the mooring etc. I start the engine to let it warm up, then faff about with ropes etc It's so hard to remember to turn off the engine everytime i disconnect the kill cord to do something. Though i know i have to.

As previously said, it can happen to those who are normally so careful.

Best wishes to those involved.

[m chappelow]

for all we know they might have had the kill cord fitted ,,but getting it wrapped around the steering wheel and its clipped on to the belt loop on a pair of jeans and its not going to hold when you go over the side ,,,

with regards to compulsery training /licencing for boats ,,i know of a few people that have passed their car driving test and have a driving licence but they still drive around speeding with no seat belts and use mobile phones ,

[willk]

Originally Posted by tonymac

How did you mod the set up Willk?

I fitted a patch of Velco to the clip end and glued another patch "in plain sight" on the console. Now when I detach the clip, I stick it on the console patch - hard to miss a red curly beside the helm and throttles

Previously the kill cord hung down between the seats and as the actual kill switch is below the console, it was easily overlooked.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by C2 RIBS

a couple of clowns in a "fletcher" type speedboat

Isn't it odd how often you see a similar collection of words in the same sentence

Everybody forgets to attach the cord sometimes, and even those of us that use them, can we honestly say we religiously check it is working every time? I know I don't - though I do check it semi regularly I found on one occasion it wasn't working due to the key being sticky and not popping out when the clip pulled off, if I had gone over the side that day I could have been in the same situation. I have no idea how long it hadn't been working but possibly for several trips.

Hope they make a speedy recovery...

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

It's so hard to remember to turn off the engine everytime i disconnect the kill cord to do something. Though i know i have to.

Leave the kill cord connected to you. That way if you're not at the controls, then engine will be off. Easy!

[Bam Bam]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Leave the kill cord connected to you. That way if you're not at the controls, then engine will be off. Easy!

Good advice JK. I leave mine connected to my lifejacket all the time but the problem is I forget its there and every time I leave the helm I get a real shock and wonder why my outboard has suddenly stopped running. It takes a minute of panic until I realise what has happened but at least I know my kill cord works.

[martini]

Originally Posted by Bam Bam

I forget its there and every time I leave the helm I get a real shock and wonder why my outboard has suddenly stopped running.

Been there done that! Scares the cr*p out of me every time

[BogMonster]

Yep, done that a few times too

[Poly]

Originally Posted by willk

I fitted a patch of Velco to the clip end and glued another patch "in plain sight" on the console. Now when I detach the clip, I stick it on the console patch - hard to miss a red curly beside the helm and throttles

Previously the kill cord hung down between the seats and as the actual kill switch is below the console, it was easily overlooked.

You could just clip it round the steering wheel... but if you've got a velcro fettish...

Originally Posted by John Kennet

Leave the kill cord connected to you. That way if you're not at the controls, then engine will be off. Easy!

so you never leave the console with the engine still running? I mostly adopt your approach - but there are times when I don't want to stop/start the engine.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Polwart

You could just clip it round the steering wheel... but if you've got a velcro fettish...

LOL - I don't generally attach the killcord when I'm maneuvering away from trailers/pontoons/other craft. Have to move quickly sometimes to grab/push/pull things. I always want it on soon afterward though - and that's when one forgets...

[prairie tuber]

I have a carabiner on the end of the cord which I clip to my waistbelt. I find this to be the least intrusive and allows me to move my arms & legs freely without accidentally tripping the switch.

[BogMonster]

I had mine around my left leg at about knee height on the old boat and will have a similar arrangement on the new one. With a centre mounted single console you can stretch far enough to fend off things on each side of the boat or grab a pontoon without pulling the cord out.