Runaway RIB

[Diz Carey]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Well I hadn't seen it before so thanks for posting it!!!

One thought springs to mind - WHY risk life and limb trying to stop it when all it was doing was going around in cirlces??? Sooner or later it would have run out of fuel.

Ramming it with the lifeboat COULD have caused it to go shooting off at someone near by - also the lifeboat bloke was really putting himself at risk!!!

As the person who eventually boarded the RIB, I can only give you a personal viewpoint. This is not on behalf of the RNLI. We had good reason to belive that the Rib had only just come out of the Hamble river having re-fuelled. Although it was turning in small circles these were not of a regular pattern nor diameter. The chances of the rib coming off the top of a wash and straightening up while unlikely could not be ruled out. This would present a very real danger not only to the very many people enjoying fine sunday afternoon conditions but also a vast number of unsuspecting people in the hamble had it straight lined into the river entrance.

Having tried to tackle it by stalling the engine using lines, which didnt work, a decsion was taken that the only way to remove the danger was to board and stop the boat. Sometimes the best way of removing people from danger is to remove the source of that danger. The risk invovled while resonably large were mitigated by good trainning, a skilled crew who think and act as a crew and quick decisive action. As to the actions of the inshore lifeboat, I would ask you to watch the video again, as the harbour master snags the rib the ILB has only just arrived on scene. It acted quickly having first evaluated the risk involved. Only the very quick and intuitive handling of the helmsman stopped it from being a very different day for all involved when the line parted.

[Richard B]

Hi Diz,

It's good to hear the viewpoint of somebody actually involved. So just to be clear, was that you who jumped down from the bow of the ALB onto the RIB?

I think it's all to easy to stand back, analyse and criticise the actions taken, particularly when the outcome was positive. Well done, I think the results speak for themselves.

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Diz Carey

As the person who eventually boarded the RIB, I can only give you a personal viewpoint. This is not on behalf of the RNLI. We had good reason to belive that the Rib had only just come out of the Hamble river having re-fuelled. Although it was turning in small circles these were not of a regular pattern nor diameter. The chances of the rib coming off the top of a wash and straightening up while unlikely could not be ruled out. This would present a very real danger not only to the very many people enjoying fine sunday afternoon conditions but also a vast number of unsuspecting people in the hamble had it straight lined into the river entrance.

.

Firstly PLEASE don't think I am attacking the RNLI - nobody has more admiration for them - my father was - at one stage - a crew member.

If it was you who jumped on board then if I had a hat I would take it off to you - a very brave thing to do!

However I will STILL stick by my comments. Obviously hindsight is all well and good AFTER the event but surely people are always learning? Most people these days will review what took place and analyse the event to see if things would be done differently next time.

You say "The chances of the rib coming off the top of a wash and straightening up while unlikely could not be ruled out."

And yet it DID resume it's circling - despite being rammed by the lifeboat - surely that was more likely to alter it's course than it coming off the wash???

Again NOT an attack on the RNLI - just a comment made with the benefit of HINDSIGHT!!!!

[Diz Carey]

Many thanks for your reponses. Yes I am the one who boarded the RIB. I was also in the ILB during its first approach. I would tend to agree with some of the comments, and certainly the sentiment behind your reply. It is without doubt always the best practice to persue the action with least risk to life involved. Sometimes though one has to asses the overall factors and circumstances. In our case and on that day the danger presented to others had a major impact on the decision process. Had the Rib run straight there was nothing on scene that would have been able to catch it let alone do anything about it at speed. I therfore still think that the right action was taken on the day. Sadly one of the most upsetting things of all was to having to remove the kill cord, thoughtfully wrapped around the throttle body, that could have saved all the trouble in the first place.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by Diz Carey

...kill cord, thoughtfully wrapped around the throttle body...

You have a health sense of irony! BTW can you clarify when this event happened (ie what year?)? There seems to be a little confusion about the date!

[Diz Carey]

This year, about 3 or 4 weeks ago.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by Diz Carey

This year, about 3 or 4 weeks ago.

Thanks for clarifying that, Diz!

BTW you weren't one of the crew I gave a lift from the pontoon to the ALB last Septermber? OK, it's a long time ago...

[Diz Carey]

Very possibly.

[Hightower]

It's a shame that it's so difficult for manufacturers to design a kill cord that beeps at you (in seatbelt unbuckled mode) untill you fasten the kill cord. With all the best intentions......we all at some stage have forgotten to attatch the cord at some point or other, haven't we?

[LURCHER]

This http://www.alert2.com/ seems to be the answer but at some cost , if engine makers made them as part of the throttle control they would be pence and would work !