Incident No. 8 - How safe is your dinghy?

11:02 PM Mon 24 Aug 2009 GMT

'Stern view of safety boat' .

Judgment is for God, but the best mistakes to learn by are other people's.

In this anecdote, the eighth of a series, we present a real sailing situation which was investigated by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), and FOUR lessons deduced. Can you identify the lessons?

(Find the answers at the end of the story)

Two young boys were undertaking some sailing training on a privately-owned Hobie Cat dinghy in sheltered waters. Although they had both previously sailed monohull dinghies together, it was their first time in a Hobie Cat. They therefore spent the morning with a sailing coach, who helped them familiarise themselves with the dinghy and then accompanied them in a rigid inflatable (RIB) safety boat from a nearby sail training centre while they got used to the
catamaran's characteristics.

The boys continued to sail the dinghy into the afternoon. Although the coach had by now been dropped off ashore, the safety boat, with two qualified Royal Yachting Association (RYA) safety boat handlers on board, continued to keep station about 50 metres ahead of them. All was well until the helm of the safety boat noticed that one of the boys was in the water, with the dinghy still upright.

As the safety boat manoeuvred close, it was evident that the boy helming the dinghy was struggling to recover the other boy, whose trapeze harness was catching on the lip of the dinghy's starboard hull.

Given their ongoing difficulties, the crew of the safety boat decided to help. The helmsman placed the engine in neutral and the crewman began to move across the boat to assist. However, as he did so, he slipped and inadvertently grabbed hold of the throttle to prevent his fall. This forced the engine into gear. Although he immediately pulled the kill cord, the stern of the RIB momentarily slewed to port before the engine stopped, and the propeller struck the boy's left leg, causing serious injuries.

The safety boat crewman immediately called for an ambulance using his mobile phone, and the injured boy was recovered to the safety boat and taken back to the sailing centre. The boy was subsequently transferred to a local hospital, where his left leg had to be amputated above the knee.

Click here for the four lessons that the MAIB deduced.

Sail-World Cruising is grateful to MAIB for its permission to use these incidents

by MAIB/Sail-World Cruising

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Incident No. 8 - How safe is your dinghy?

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