Select to expand quoteikw777 said..Hroar said..
ikw777 said..
Man up and sail in the ocean. Problem solved.
If you sailed in the Ocean ie Wavesailing you'd notice there thousands of swimmers & surfers out there you idiot!
How many swimmers 1km off-shore? That's right, a damn lot less that at the beach. Going even 400 metres out will do it.
if you sail close to beaches and sandbanks you WILL interact with swimmers.
Yeah for sure. Spot on. It's up to us to watch for the swimmers, I mean we're barrelling in at 20 knots, and they're out to have a nice afternoon ,not paying attention to us, unaware of any danger. Oh look at the nice colors on that sail!
Imagine if you hit a kid.
Stay clear!
Select to expand quoteslalomfreak said..
Ive often stopped in the shallows near the beach and shown my fin to swimmers that I thought were naive,as a kind of educational exercise, but they never take any notice.
OMG freak.
The swimmers probably ran.
That narrative of yours is straight out of some movie script.
A psycho-killer redneck type of movie. lol.
"I learnd em, damn swimmers. Shaved ma whiskers with ma fin, better than a cut-throat razor."
Very traumatic. Heart goes out to the deceased and her family and the sailor and all those at the beach that day. terrible accident.
Hope everybody gets the support they need.
Select to expand quotetilldark said..
wow isnt this obvious ... everyone take responsibility for your actions. If you instigate something you are proposing a new situation and therefore are challenging the current state. I understand the premise that everyone always things they do whats right but we are adults. Its old ground but this a serious and unfortunate accident. we should remember that some poor sole lost their life here. Lets keep it respectful
tilldark, IMO you are absolutely correct.
The same in a car....driver's responsibility not to drive too fast for the prevailing situation.
Imagine how terrible you'll feel if you accidently slash someone open while sailing.....no matter who's fault it is! Devasting!
In the case of an unfortunate accident on the water involving a fast moving sailboard or kiteboard and a swimmer, diver, surfer or whoever, there is always the possibility of subsequent litigation for injuries sustained
I specifically check with my household insurance policy that I am covered for personal liability for accidents whilst windsurfing. It seems as most policies have it as standard. Remember though, you will probably NOT be covered for an organised sailing event. This insurance cover may help in getting the injured person rehabilitated properly and save you and your family from serious financial obligations.
Just a thought, especially for younger sailors who mightn't be into insurance and who probably aren't covered by their parents insurance any longer.
Select to expand quotelotofwind said...
Hi Macro,
Not having a go, but maybe in your example the snorkelers have just as much right to be there ???
Who's to say that the wind powered crew have more rights to the water than the snorkeler ?
If an incident occurred, I think the maritime rules would work in the right of the swimmer over the wind powered craft coming to close to them, even if polers were there first or think they have more rights to own that public space.
Next sea breeze I'm gonna take my family and friends down to the local tea bagging beach and spread out along the sand and go swimming and surfing and see how well that goes down.
There were a couple of deaths caused by windsurfers in the 80's in NSW (Palm Beach, South Coast if my memory is correct)
Led to banning from most beaches at the time.
I think this tragic event should be a reminder of the dangers of our sports.
You have to know a snorkeler is there to avoid them. Their visibility is similar to someone in dark clothing walking on an unlit road at night - you don't see them until the last seconds.
The authorities had the right idea in segregating diving from the area. Its a place that is rare in that it is suitable for speed sailing and events have been held there since 2003. There are many places suitable for snorkeling.
Windsurfers do have the responsibility to avoid a collision. I think there is also a responsibility on snorkelers/divers to make themselves clearly visible in areas where there is water traffic.
In some locations the best solution is segregation. There are segregated areas on many beaches now for swimmers, kiters, windsurfers, because it is the best solution.
Select to expand quotefishlogan said..
Easy solution. Diving flags. Attached to the diver if they don't have a boat. Which I thought was law?
So,
Who out there believes that if you simply float and anchor a dive flag on a patch of water,
(that's infested with speeding polers),,,
then everything will be just wonderful and perfect for snorkelling ?
Seriously ?
Wow, how freakin naive can you be ?
lol.
Folks need to look up the meaning of 'survival' in their pocket dictionary.
You just need to put this in perspective, Someone has been killed which is nothing more then a tragic accident. The fact that it was a windsurfer has nothing to do with it. We all take risks in day to day life that have greater consequences then going snorkeling at our local beach. Everything we do has risk from crossing the road to walking the streets after dark...Or during the day for that matter. Swimming at the beach has risks, Be it sharks, Stingrays, Jellyfish, Windsufers, Kiters or just the water state in general...It all has the potential to cause harm. It's like occupational health and safety, It doesn't matter how many procedures and rules you have in place...Accidents happen, And that's all it was a tragic accident.
At the end of the day we all enjoy the water for what it is, Regardless of the rules and who has the right to be there...Everyone please look out for everyone out there, We all make mistakes from time to time.
My heart goes out to all those involved.
And to all my water friends, Stay safe and look after all your fellow mates on the water.
Jase.
I met Remo in Luderitz in 2014. As nice a guy as you would hope to meet. A true gentleman, very caring and sensible. (He is a secondary school teacher of PE/Sports and Languages in Switzerland). I am certain he was devastated by the events and my heart goes out to him and his lovely partner Heidi.
A horrible accident.
I agree very tragic for all involved, living in Spain and sailing in Spain as I do you learn a few of the laws, basically they usually have yellow bouys that mark a 300 meter zone that you are supposed to stay beyond unless you are in an area that is designated for water sports like kitesurf windsurfing etc, unfortunately this lady made two mistakes, firstly she had no marker bouy attached to her, this was plain stupid, then the second was something that can quite easily happen as whilst diving she strayed into the nautical zone and that's where it happened, very unfortunate.
Select to expand quotehotracer said..
firstly she had no marker bouy attached to her, this was plain stupid
She was snorkelling not diving. The "plain stupid" comment is inappropriate.
Let me ask you how many times have you snorkelled with a buoy attached to yourself when you were on vacation? How many time have you even ever seen a snorkeler using a buoy at all? Have you ever seen a mask and snorkel being sold together with a buoy in a tourist shop?
My apologies, in the Spanish press it says she was buceando, which means with a tank, I said wrong saying she was snorkelling, I should have said scuba diving
stupid brain.
