looks like another tragedy

[jeepster]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3352177.stm

 

my thoughts are with the families of the people involved

[keith 405]

My house looks out to the forth and everytime i look out i think of them and there familys.

[Norrie]

Hi, Sad news indeed, I/we were at Arbroath yesterday fishing and the weather was horrendous,we packed in early. A search and rescue chopper made its way up the coast to the lighthouse at Ferryden and then turned and headed back south, obviously leaving no stone unturned.Tho' we didnt know this at the time..

[Newt]

15 ft speedboat. 'Horrendous conditions'.

 

Fatal, almost certainly at this point.

Foolish, no doubt.

Rough on the survivors, probably.

Tragic, maybe for the surviving friends and family. Hard to say without knowing if they liked the folks who were lost or not.

 

The sea has been eating the foolish and careless folks for lots of years and will continue to do so. If the older fellow has made a habit of this sort of bad judgement, it's a wonder he lived this long (37 years old) rather than that the sea ate him.

 

My view on this is probably very different from most but after losing friends from search/rescue accidents and after picking up more than one idiot who then proceeded to berate us for not saving his boat rather than being happy we saved him, I've gotten a little hardened.

 

Commercial boats out for long periods who get caught by nasty weather are one thing. But any who would take a small boat out this time of year in spite of a rough weather prediction ... sorry but can't work up much sympathy.

[chesters1]

not only the careless and foolish but the professional and well equipped as well , britain is a nation of sailors and "in going to the sea" some dont come back , drowning or getting run over by a bus the ends the same.

Having the latest gizmo for seaworthyness wont stop a boat sinking if it did then large naval vessels wouldnt run aground or tankers sink if Davy Jones wants company he`l get it

[spasor]

I see from the local reports that they set out at 06.30? I hope that was from the house, and not the slipway!! No-one leaves their moorings in darkness without a favourable forecast and sea state.

I just feel that whatever some of us advise. There will always be folk that will in complete ignorance, put out to sea, expecting their `lovely craft with all that horse power, to get them out of difficulties`? I can`t feel anything for the skipper. He should have been more cautious. But the 16yr old kid, excited at the prospect of a days fishing in a `flash` boat. My heart goes out to his parents.

There will be loads of recriminations, but will anyone learn any lessons from this loss? I fear not. Also reported in the newspapers today is the loss of life, when an absolute plonker decided to sail a luxury yacht from France to the Virgin Islands into the teeth of a gale!! The skipper was in his early 20`s. Not long got his coastal skippers cert` if I`m right. Bay of Biscay is not the best point of departure with an Atlantic low pressure area bearing down on you? Well, this young man did. He lost the boat (washed up on a beach with mast smashed), his own life, plus that of another crew member! One hardy soul managed to crawl ashore after numerous hours in the water. His recovery was declared a miracle by French rescue services.

In recent gales, emergency services were aghast at the number of folk `Wave Dodging` on various prommenades.

Sorry. I don`t know the answer! It seems that folk don`t want to believe that they`re fallible and frail. I think they`ve watched too many videos where the hero always succeeds.

Take it from me. Mother Nature can smash you into a pulp without blinking an eye.

Don`t be afraid. But DO be careful.

Paul.

[Ian Bass]

Although this is a tragic incident I am always amazed at the sheer stupidity of people who, every year, go out in lets face it small boats dont come back. When will people stop underestimating the power of the sea? Or do we have the 'It will never happen to me' mentallity?

I was at Fleetwood on the same day this happened and I saw several people blown off their feet (and I dont just mean elderly people) It was high tide when I got there, the current and tide was running at a FRIGHTNING speed in the channel and yet there was still a pr*t fishing (obviously with Christmas pressie floatation suit on)Not only that he had a young child with him, who was no where near as well protected from the weather and who looked frozen and fed up. The child was running up and down the beach unsupervised. One slip and the child would have stood NO CHANCE WHATSOEVER. Another tradgedy.

COME ON PEOPLE we've all got brains.....USE THEM!!

 

[ 30. December 2003, 05:43 AM: Message edited by: Ian Bass ]

[Lid]

My heart goes out to these people's families, but I do agree that it seems rather foolish to have ventured out in the first place.

 

Shouldn't they have had a radio on board too, rather than just relying mobile phones? (The original news item stated they did not have a radio).

 

[ 30. December 2003, 11:31 AM: Message edited by: Lid ]

[Salar]

Newt:

15 ft speedboat. 'Horrendous conditions'.

 

The sea has been eating the foolish and careless folks for lots of years and will continue to do so. If the older fellow has made a habit of this sort of bad judgement, it's a wonder he lived this long (37 years old) rather than that the sea ate him.

We have all made mistakes - but this sounds like sheer stupidity - again. Maybe AN should have a special Darwin Award category for idiots who remove themselves from the gene pool in this way. The skipper was responsible, and the blame for the deaths of people who were with him has to lie with him. I feel sorry for the innocents that lose their lives but idiots that take others with them just make me angry.