Boating Mishaps

[bdillahu]

There's one of these little funny/cute/viral video's that is floating around the net right now (you can see it here if you wish), that shows a bunch of clips of people falling out/overboard/down whatever. Usually they are at or near the dock and mis-step getting on/off a boat. We all see these and get a laugh.

 

On the other hand, this just really reminded me of another hazard that people tend to forget about... its not all weather/shipping/engine failure/whatever. People trip and get crushed between boats and docks. They fall in and drown when they can't get back up and no-one is around to help. Kids and pets need to be under tight control (and probably wearing flotation devices).

 

I would think/imagine that with the tight clearances, the on/off nature of locking through on the narrowboat's, and the frequent "tie-ups" in various places, this could be an even bigger issue with the Canal world than the coastal and passagemaking world. Of course maybe canal boaters are just less clumsy :-)

 

Be careful when around your boat... live to sail again another day :-)

 

Anyway, just some thoughts...

[bramley]

my grandad used to have a boat well for over 18 years. they sold it and recently after my nan died he came back to the uk, and went to visit a friend, they were going up the canal somehwere and im not to sure how it happened but he sliped and i leg got caught between the moving boat and the concreate side.....

 

i have never eveeeeeeeer seen a bruise like it, he limped for days and his whole leg went brownish colour, it wasnt pleasnt to look at. i did feel rather sorry for him indeed

[Brummage]

Our little dog (Cairn Terrier) jumped from the boat to the towpath just as we were pulling in to moor, and her front paws slipped and she went straight into the cut, between the pilings and the boat. Luckily she had her extendable lead on and my wife was able to pull her up a second or two before she got crushed! Phew, we watch her like a hawk after that!

[Carrie]

Ouch! The leg episode sounds painful! I haven't been hurt yet, but I have been horribly slimed. It was frosty and slippery on the roof the other day and so when I came into a narrow lock, going up, I thought I'd nip along the gunnels to the ladder, rather than clamber on the roof. The boat was still moving and I got squished against the slimy lock walls - yuk.

[ChrisPy]

I got squished

...... squishy carrie .............. doesn't bear thinking about. LOOK AFTER YOURSELF, DEAR LADY !!

[Alec Gatherer]

One of my crew members a few years back leapt over-enthusiastically onto the foredeck, tripped on a ballast paving slab that was there and broke her ankle. Ever tried rushing someone to hospital on a narrowboat?

Had to do it a couple of years later when another guest had a heart attack on the Caldon. Ever tried getting an ambulance to rendezvous with you at a remote canal bridge?

And another incident on the Caldon, of which I am ashamed, occurred near the Black Lion when the redoubtable Ethel was presiding over this boating and drinking man's Utopia. A friend and I were trying to walk off the compulsory (after being imprisoned by Ethel in the pub the night before) hangover when we heard cries coming from the direction of the canal. Believe it or not we were in such a state that it took us several minutes' debate before we decided that it could just be a cry for help. We sauntered down to the edge and found a chap had fallen from the disabled trip boat and was being held above the water by a carer, who was a slip of a thing and unable to haul the poor chap out. Of course we dewatered him, but remain to this day embarrassed that we were so blasé about the incident that had we been much drunker we could have ignored the frantic call for assistance from a fellow boater. One is reminded of the cartoon depicting two fervent anglers in a boat watching the death struggle of a drowning man about two feet from the boat; one angler finds the time to break off from the important business of watching his float to remark to the other "only a miracle can save him".

Moral? - enjoy yourselves but be vigilant and alert to danger.

[bdillahu]

Ever tried rushing someone to hospital on a narrowboat?

Had to do it a couple of years later when another guest had a heart attack on the Caldon. Ever tried getting an ambulance to rendezvous with you at a remote canal bridge?

 

This is an interesting thought... I never really considered the delay that could be incurred. You always think about being "near shore" and able to easily get to a hospital, but you rightly point out that its not always true.

 

Most of us "city dwellers" get so used to being able to just pick up the phone and have instant help, we need to remember to plan out some of these things ahead of time.

[NB Alnwick]

We all know that boating can be very dangerous - we heard a story on Tuesday of someone disapearing off the stern deck while reversing - the engine stalled and one of the family opened the weedhatch only to find the body wrapped round the prop. Horrific!

 

Our cat ('GC') has been in several times and is a strong swimmer - he can also climb up a boat pole like greased lightning but it really makes you think when you consider what might happen if any of us were to fall in while the prop was turning - a twelve and half litre Kelvin would take some stopping.

[Djuwenda]

We all know that boating can be very dangerous - we heard a story on Tuesday of someone disapearing off the stern deck while reversing - the engine stalled and one of the family opened the weedhatch only to find the body wrapped round the prop. Horrific!

 

Our cat ('GC') has been in several times and is a strong swimmer - he can also climb up a boat pole like greased lightning but it really makes you think when you consider what might happen if any of us were to fall in while the prop was turning - a twelve and half litre Kelvin would take some stopping.

 

 

I think you should put that back in perspective, how many actual accident happen on a yearly basis?

 

 

would you compare it and say it as dangerous as riding a motorbike? or workking on a fishing boat at sea?

 

 

I personnaly dont regard boating the inland waterways as a dangerous activity per se...

[NB Alnwick]

I personnaly dont regard boating the inland waterways as a dangerous activity per se...

 

We said that it can be dangerous. That is not to suggest that it is a dangerous hobby on the same scale as some others but the potential is there and accordingly needs to be given due respect and common sense.

 

Which is much better than having to carry out safety audits and risk assessments etc. etc.

[WJM]

There are some massive safety risks on the (designed long ago) canals - but it is a bit like the car steering wheel spike (potentially the best contribution to road safety), percieved danger regulates, rather than this decade's nanny state!

[NB Alnwick]

There are some massive safety risks on the (designed long ago) canals - but it is a bit like the car steering wheel spike (potentially the best contribution to road safety), percieved danger regulates, rather than this decade's nanny state!

 

A very sound argument - we once had a Citroen 2CV and a Saab - we always drove the 2CV rather more considerately knowing full well that it couldn't possibly win an argument with anything!!!

Edited November 30, 2006 by NB Alnwick