PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

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Catigale
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PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Catigale »

We lost a 61 year old retired teacher in a Vermont lake last week

He stepped off his boat in mild conditions to get to an inner tube float, fell in, and couldn't make it back to his stopped boat due to drift

Body recovered the next day from lake bottom

http://cbs6albany.com/news/local/emerge ... -catherine
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Catigale »

Horrible news from BRANSON MO, multiple lives lost on a lake from a swamped duck boat
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Jimmyt »

Very sad. We have duck boat tours in Mobile also. I expect they may start wearing PFDs after that. Those craft are not the most seaworthy vessels, so l was surprised that they didn’t hand out PFDs for the tour. They are very careful about water conditions here, and won’t go in the bay when it’s rough.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Catigale »

Storm apparently came up quickly but my guess is the Master of the Vessel will be treated harshly for not issuing PFDs when it. Kicked up
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by NiceAft »

I have taken Duckboat tours in NYC, Philly, Boston, London, and Singapore. I have never been issued a PFD on board any of these boats. Also, because of the design of these boats, it is not easy to escape in an emergency. If I remember correctly, there are PFD’s, but difficult to access.

There was a captain and a driver on this particular boat. The captain survived, not the driver. I don’t know what the title of captain entails. I think that is what the tour guide is called.

The weatherman Al Roker (not certain of the spelling) said that a storm warning went out early in the day. The boat should not have gone on the water.

I was discussing this story with my wife. It struck home since we have taken Duckboat rides around the world. If I was on this particular boat, I don’t think I would have waited for the crew to issue the PFD’s to the people onboard. I would have insisted, but again, due to structure, escape from a swamped Duckboat is not easy.

Ray
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by kmclemore »

One of the problems with wearing a PFD on a Duck Boat is that it can trap you under the canopy... when the boat goes down, the canopy, being somewhat higher in the center (and even more-so when capsizing) acts like a vault arch and anyone with a PFD will be pulled up into the center and drowned due to their buoyancy preventing them from swimming down and out from under. This is supposedly the reason the captain advised against using the PFDs on this cruise.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by NiceAft »

You’re dammed if you do, and dammed if you don’t.

There is only one exit on a Duckboat, and that is in the rear. Those steps only go down, and they are narrow. With all of the people on the boat, that means of egress is not feasible. Now you’re in the position of exiting through the windows, along with a whole bunch of screaming people with the same idea. I’d rather wear the PFD, and work my way out, all the while with positive buoyancy moving me upward. I still have arms and legs, and I can swim horizontally. The captain made a bad decision. I’ve been on those boats many times. If those conditions suddenly came up while aboard, I’d rather wear the PFD.

If that is the captains fear of what happens in a swamping/sinking of the boat, then that craft should not be on the water carrying paid customers. Let him/her go on it with his/her own family.

I won’t go on one again.

Ray
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Catigale »

Someone will need a serious license to pilot a commercial craft with 31 passengers unless they did the Fung Wah Bus thing.

I’m sure PFDs were on board, they should have been issued immediately on realizing weather was changing.


Caught by weather on a lake in this day and age? seriously.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always. Branson MO Duckboat Sink

Post by 1st Sail »

I've never been one to pile on, just learn from others error in judgement.
Two of passengers were from my area. The 14yr old granddaughter lost her Grandmother. In her local interview she stated the captain told the passengers they didn't need to put on their PFD's. There were windows on both sides that could not be opened. When they started taking on water and sinking she and her GM attempted to remove the pfd's from the ceiling but couldn't get them to release. The Duck went down very quickly. She recalled the water was initially warm then quickly turned very cold. Apparently the buoyancy from all the stuck pdf's in the ceiling popped the top off. Her final recollection was the water was very dark and cold. She felt a push up and managed to swim the remaining 40-80 ft to the surface and then to a dock near shore. She wasn't sure but thought it may have been her GM that gave her a shove in the right direction. Sadly there was no one to save her GM.

This reminds me of the tragedy during the Mobile Bay Regatta. Between cell phone weather aps and line of site who can't make an informed risk assessment for their own personal well being. Even the probability of pop up storms backs me off. We have the weather radar running on a cell or tablet in the cock pit. I'll just sail another day thank you.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always. Branson MO Duckboat Sink

Post by NiceAft »

With the above post, the only comment I will make is with the statement on not needing the life vest.

Having been on Duck Boats in three different countries (US,GB, Singapore), a statement is made by the tour guide that there are PFD’s, but you won’t need them. This is stated at the very beginning of the ride. I don’t hold it against the company for saying this. It calms down any nervous passengers, BUT, I do hold it against the company for (A) sending out the boat on a day where there were plenty of weather warnings. (B) Having windows which hinder egress in an emergency. (C) Not issuing PFD’s when it was apparent that the conditions were far from normal.

In Philly a few years ago, a Duckboat on the Delaware River was struck by a barge being pushed by a Tugboat. Several student tourist from Hungary drowned.

Whenever I was on a Duck, I made myself aware of not just where the PFD’s were held, but also how to get one if needed. People lost their lives due to some bad decisions by the company and its personnel. There is liability here that needs to be assigned.

The deaths from Duckboat tours is not just on the water. In Philly and Boston, there were deaths when pedestrians crossing a street, walked right in front of a Duck boat. The driver’s could not see them due to a very large blind spot in front of the craft,

As I said in an earlier post, I have taken Duck Tours in five different cities around the world, but will not do that any more.

My belief is that the company should no longer be in business. The risk to the general public is too high. These machines were designed quickly for a war time need. They should not be on our streets, or on the water. They are far too dangerous. They are not in Philly any longer.

Ray
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always. Branson MO Duckboat Sink

Post by Catigale »

How about...

“We have never needed to use PFDs but let’s spend 30seconds to review them in case we do.”

Hey....just like the airlines ...the only six sigma safety interaction the public experiences

It was amazing to see the attention span change on flights after the USAir flight that landed in the Hudson.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always. Maave Kennedy McKean Drowning APR 2020

Post by Catigale »

Rsurrecting an old thread


Maeve McKean (40) and her son Gideon (8) went missing on Chesapeake Bay, her body has been recovered, son is still missing.

They got into a canoe to retrieve a ball 8 feet from shore. Tides and wind pushed them out into he Bay, where small craft warnings were up, and their canoe was apparently swamped and they both drowned.

Boating starts when you put on your PFDs. For us, thats when we get out of the car at the dock.

SO many sailors think the danger is the 15 foot blue water seas - the real danger is the simple slip on the dock, the stair that breaks, the fall off the boat while moored.

Wear your PFDS the second you are near the water.
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always. Maave Kennedy McKean Drowning APR 2020

Post by NiceAft »

Catigale wrote: Tue Apr 07, 2020 6:39 am Rsurrecting an old thread


Maeve McKean (40) and her son Gideon (8) went missing on Chesapeake Bay, her body has been recovered, son is still missing.

They got into a canoe to retrieve a ball 8 feet from shore. Tides and wind pushed them out into he Bay, where small craft warnings were up, and their canoe was apparently swamped and they both drowned.

Boating starts when you put on your PFDs. For us, thats when we get out of the car at the dock.

SO many sailors think the danger is the 15 foot blue water seas - the real danger is the simple slip on the dock, the stair that breaks, the fall off the boat while moored.

Wear your PFDS the second you are near the water.
Thanks for that reminder.

I don't mean t preach, but too many times I read on this forum that members keep their PFD's where the can reach them in case of an emergency; this goes against all reasoning. If an emergency occurs, going below, or searching for where you placed your vests, and then putting them on takes precious time away from addressing what needs to be done.

One of my young nephews had a bib that said "Spit Happens!"; it does, and on a boat, it can cost you your life.
Ray ~~_/)~~
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Jimmyt »

Story is tragic from so many angles... what do you reckon that ball was worth? Not two lives for sure. The water temp was too cold to be careless. Even if they had the presence of mind to ditch when the realized they couldn't make headway, the water temp would have been an incredible challenge.

Catigale is spot on. The danger of drowning starts as soon as you're near water. A good friend of mine, boater/fisherman for life, left his dock in his Potter for a solo. Kicker died. He drifted to a neighbor's pier. Tied up, and stepped off onto his neighbor's pier. Came to, flat on his back in his boat. The neighbor had been working on his pier. When my friend stepped on the end of the un-nailed board, he got a face full of wood and hit who knows what on the way backwards. He told me that he wasn't wearing a PFD and if he had fallen overboard instead of into his boat, he'd be dead. Made a believer of him. One of the lucky few who learned the lesson without paying the cost of admission; which is typically drowning.

You're right Ray. It's real easy to find when you're wearing it.

Good to bring this topic up from time to time I think.

Plus, I'm glad to see Catigale posting!
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Re: PSA - Wear those PFDs...always

Post by Russ »

Jimmyt wrote: Tue Apr 07, 2020 8:51 am You're right Ray. It's real easy to find when you're wearing it.

Good to bring this topic up from time to time I think.

Plus, I'm glad to see Catigale posting!
^^^^ This ^^^^

I read that story and it's tragic. So avoidable.
--Russ
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