Body found in Harecastle Tunnel

[PaulG]

Mine are very much like this but an older design http://www.sailandsnow.com/helly-hansen-navigare-comfort-33800?gclid=CjgKEAjwnfGbBRDlxoHrl6uikyESJAD-nzCF_AgqoVIt1KDPliV-r5Zo6ZmAL1eRupGbiRwLKKQ_qPD_BwE

 

can someone confirm that they are life jackets?

You can tell by the ISO number:

ISO12402-5 - 50N buoyancy aids, minimum of 5kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-4 - 100N lifejackets, minimum of 10kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-3 - 50N lifejackets, minimum of 15kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-2 - 275N lifejackets, minimum of 27.5kg of buoyancy.

[RLWP]

 

You can tell by the ISO number:

ISO12402-5 - 50N buoyancy aids, minimum of 5kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-4 - 100N lifejackets, minimum of 10kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-3 - 50N lifejackets, minimum of 15kg of buoyancy.

ISO12402-2 - 275N lifejackets, minimum of 27.5kg of buoyancy.

 

 

Excellent, I thought that might be the way, I didn't look up the categories

 

Richard

[b0atman]

What happened to the Mae West ?

[nebulae]

Dont forget that lifejackets have a service life. Auto inflate and hammar types this is particularly important .I like the idea of a head torch .Had not thought of it before this thread. Very sad to hear about the accident .Condolences to the family.

[RLWP]

Going back to the speculation bit, I think we may be making assumptions and solving a different problem to what happened in this incident

 

Richard

[Alan de Enfield]

What happened to the Mae West ?

 

She died Nov 22nd 1980

[headjog]

If you follow the Facebook link in post 5 & scroll down the comments, you will find that Staffordshire police have named a 58 year old man who lived aboard with his wife, as the poor soul they recovered from the water.

[GoodGurl]

he is named here http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Michael-Holgate-named-man-died-falling-canal/story-21120192-detail/story.html

[the grinch]

Ah, I haven't heard that.

 

Sickle will go through it with some gusto, so I don't think it is incredibly shallow.

 

I still contend that where the roof it at its lowst, then almost certainly the water depth will be significantly greater as well.

not so in the case of harecastle as the floor is fairly consistant throughout having been filled with concrete in the past the tunnel becomes squashed where the roof is low and is more flat bottomed

[ditchcrawler]

 

You take your canoe through tunnels?

 

A whole higher magnitude of risk I'd have thought. Surely you could be in serious trouble even the relatively short Bruce Tunnel if a widebeam coming the other way fails to notice you.

 

 

 

A couple of hundred canoists do it every year

[Machpoint005]

A couple of hundred canoists do it every year

 

In which case, a couple of hundred canoeists are contravening by-laws(?) as well as putting themselves stupidly at risk.

I feel for the poor so-and-so in a narrowboat who mows one down, then has to live with the memory ever after.

I'm not the slightest bit arsed about the idiot canoeist, though.

[andy3196]

List of tunnels open to canoes etc linked from http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/navigating-the-waterways/canal-and-river-structures/tunnels

[ditchcrawler]

 

In which case, a couple of hundred canoeists are contravening by-laws(?) as well as putting themselves stupidly at risk.

I feel for the poor so-and-so in a narrowboat who mows one down, then has to live with the memory ever after.

I'm not the slightest bit arsed about the idiot canoeist, though.

Take a look at http://www.dwrace.org.uk/

[DHutch]

A friend of mine fell off her butty in Braunston Tunnel but fortunately was wearing a headtorch and was spotted and rescued by people in a following boat.

 

They caught up with her partner at the locks who was oblivious to the incident, unable to hear her shouts over the JP2.

Scary!

It was after a fatality here in Preston Brook tunnel about 24 years ago that a lot of money was spent by BW putting wooden fendering along one side of tunnels, with a chain suspended underneath near the waterline so that somebody falling in could hopefully use the chain to help themselves out. Also luminescent arrows to indicate which is the shorter way out.

The chain make a lot of sense if the water is deeper than you can stand up in, although arrows are phosphorescence and sadly as they get no day light so do not as such glow.

 

As its manned, if a boat came out without a steerer (single handed) or reporting a missing person (multi-handed) I am sure the tunnel boat would be sent in straight away with its powerful lights and if you where able to remain above water I am sure they would find you.

 

However, as said, if you fell of a boat that had a boat behind you, it would be very hard to attract there attention, or be guaranteed to have the boat pass you without harm.

 

Certainly very sad indeed.

 

 

Daniel

[Hepehazo]

Reference my posts yesterday, I sadly seen the body recovered at 2130hrs yesterday evening. The police specialist unit with unenviable task walked the length of Harecastle tunnel and emerged from the tunnel entrance not more than slightly above waist deep. It is, of course, impossible to stand on the roof of a boat in the tunnel. I was first boat through the tunnel this morning, and despite feeling a little uneasy business as usual has resumed. My thoughts rest with the family.

[Paul C]

Its possible the man was on the roof because the height level changes in steps through the tunnel, they may have been fine initially when they entered, but realised something will catch (or maybe they caught something already and it was about to fall off etc), so the other person stopped the boat and he climbed onto the roof to try adjust items on it, made a slip and went off the side of the boat (the tunnel is about 9 feet wide, due to previously having a towpath in it). Just a theory of course....

[alan_fincher]

Not sure if it is already in the thread or not.

BBC News Linky

 

Michael Holgate, 58, from Windermere in Cumbria, fell while travelling through the Harecastle Tunnel near Kidsgrove at about 13.15 BST on Tuesday.

 

Staffordshire Police said his death was not being treated as suspicious and it was a "tragic accident."

 

A police spokesman said the coroner had been informed and officers had been supporting Mr Holgate's wife, who lived with him on the narrowboat.

 

[Hepehazo]

I saw the boat involved this morning there was nothing on the roof, it was an extremely tidy and well cared for boat. Perhaps we should wait for the inevitable investigation to be completed and an official announcement made.

[RLWP]

I saw the boat involved this morning there was nothing on the roof, it was an extremely tidy and well cared for boat. Perhaps we should wait for the inevitable investigation to be completed and an official announcement made.

 

Well said.

 

Richard

[Felshampo]

In which case, a couple of hundred canoeists are contravening by-laws(?) as well as putting themselves stupidly at risk.

I feel for the poor so-and-so in a narrowboat who mows one down, then has to live with the memory ever after.

I'm not the slightest bit arsed about the idiot canoeist, though.

I did the Leeds Liverpool canal marathon a few years ago in a kayak and going through the tunnels was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Obviously there were no boats allowed during the race. Edited May 22, 2014 by Felshampo

[David Mack]

I did the Leeds Liverpool canal marathan a few years ago in a kayak and going through the tunnels was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Obviously there were no boats allowed during the race.

They let cows swim through Foulridge Tunnel!

[alan_fincher]

I saw the boat involved this morning there was nothing on the roof, it was an extremely tidy and well cared for boat. Perhaps we should wait for the inevitable investigation to be completed and an official announcement made.

 

I agree.

 

It is entirely possible that this person was boating faultlessly, but suffered some kind of catastrophic medical emergency.

 

It seems wrong to me to theorise that he did anything inappropriate until there is some shred of evidence that supports it.

[ditchcrawler]

I saw the boat involved this morning there was nothing on the roof, it was an extremely tidy and well cared for boat. Perhaps we should wait for the inevitable investigation to be completed and an official announcement made.

True

[dmr]

Sadly I have just worked out who this is, we spent several evenings eating/drinking/chatting together on each others boats over the winter whilst trapped by the flooding.

He would not have been standing on the roof, he was a very sensible and cautious boater, and also a really lovely man.

 

............Dave

[nbfiresprite]

Is there anyone else, Apart from myself who make a point of wearing a hard hat when in a tunnel?