Little Arun - Littlehampton Tragedy :-(

[tinker]

Words cannot describe, I pity everyone involved in this tragic event.
May he R.I.P
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6739653.stm

[prairie tuber]

This is horrible news. My condolences to all relatives and friends of this boy and the others who are still missing

[The Jackeens]

Very, very sad. Condolences also to the family.

K & P

[Sarah G]

I don't think that words can express how awful this must be for everybody involved - including the emergency services who have to deal with the end result.

May we all remember that, however calm or nice the weather may look - don't ever allow a child to wander around outside in a boat without a lifejacket on. Children and weather are unpredictable and things can go wrong so quickly.

Can't imagine what his poor mother is going through.

[UKPOWERBOAT]

Originally Posted by Sarah G

don't ever allow a child to wander around outside in a boat without a lifejacket on

This is very sad indeed. It was quite surprising last night at the IOW Festival watching the amount of parents who let their kids go out in the tender, no life jackets and row about the other boats. There were to little girls rowing in a tender in the dark, when the tender came past us anchored up and they were swimming in amongst all the other boats towing the tender behind them. They can only have been 6 and 8.

What were the parents thinking letting them:-

a) Go out in the tender amongst all those people in the dark

b) NO lifejackets

c) To allow them to swim amongst all the other boats in the dark when either of them could have been killed by a boat not seeing them in the water. Must have been easily 2-300 boats up there last night. Crazy scenario.

Anyway rant over.

[vince]

Some more news here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6740637.stm
Turns out he wasn't wearing a lifejacket, but a sunblock suit. Tragic waste of a young life. It neednt have happened.

[nikster]

I dont know about anyone else, but, as a father with a 4 year old little girl, i have been thinking about this poor little boy all day - and have to admit to being close to tears at some points....

In reality there is not much we can do to change things - and i certainly will not stop taking my little princess out on the boats we operate, but i ask you all no matter how big or small your rib is, and no matter how much you think it wont happen to you - NEVER let a minor on your rib without a proper minors lifejacket on - i spent £130 on a Crewsaver one for her that has the self righting collar and crotch strap on, i wont let her even walk near a pontoon unless she has it on...

I spent ten hours on the water yesterday and was in a unique position to be able to listen to Solent / Portland and Brixham all at the same time - what a day.....

It was like being back in the gulf war in 91 - listening to casualty reports every few minutes from different parts of the theatre.... bloody awful - dont want to be in that position again, ever, really..... NOT a good day :-(

RIP little fella........

[codprawn]

It is incredibly sad - especially for the yachties who found the baby and the poor mother left behind.

I think there may well be more to this than meets the eye though. it said the dinghy was a zodiac - so obviously some form of SIB and they are pretty stable.

As regards kids always wearing lifejackets fair enough but plenty of kids play in the sea without them. I really don't want it to get to the stage where kids are wearing lifejackets at the local swimming pool. There is a very real danger of being too protective.

Kids need to learn to swim - a lifejacket is no substitute. I was brought up by the Red Sea and could swim like a fish by the time I was 3. I often sneaked out of the house early in the morning to go swimming on my own - I was 7 or 8 years old by then.(the worst part was the hammering I got afterwards) No sign of a lifejacket and I fell into the sea many times off boats. One big advantage was the water was 99F though - hotter than blood. Then again not many sharks here!!!

[nikster]

my suzy swims like a fish also, and swimming is not the issue - being a mile off the beach in a SIB with no lifejacket on is unacceptable - i am only trying to make a point about kids in boats - not kids on a beach...

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by codprawn

I think there may well be more to this than meets the eye though. it said the dinghy was a zodiac - so obviously some form of SIB and they are pretty stable.

The later of the BBC reports linked above refers to a "5ft-long dinghy" in which case it sounds more like beach toy than a serious SIB. "Zodiac" may just have been used as a generic term for an inflatable.

John