Boating Accident

[Reel Poor]

This happened Sunday At Horn Island which lies about 12.5 miles southeast of Biloxi Ms. We were out there when the accident happened. Didn't get involved in the comotion though. This girl was also training for a new job where my wife works and was a no call no show for work Sunday morning (before the accident).

News Article

 

[ob]

Re: Boating Accident

That's too bad.Sounds like from the short write up that the accident was due to an inexperienced operator at the helm.

 

[QC]

Re: Boating Accident

I have posted a similar one the last couple of years. We are in and out of the water all of the time and I can see this happening very easily. I typically request a "clear" from someone near the stern before I start even if we haven't been swimming. I am still not 100% with this, but working on it.

I really like the latest Chaparral built in swim steps as you would have to work to get to the propeller from the ladder. With that said, I am not sure how you get sucked in by prop "wash" . . . With the one I posted I always imagined that the victim (lost leg and bled to death) was actually at the bow when the operator started to idle forward dragging the guy toward the prop, but didn't have enough details to know. Maybe the one here was in reverse? I guess there are some Cats with twin OBs with the ladder slightly in front of the props like a World Cat or something similar.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Boating Accident

We noticed a boat that was having drive trim problems (I/O drive wouldn't go down and was in the full up position) about the time this was reported to have happened. At this time there was a guy standing on the swim platform and a couple of guys in the engine compartment as they went by us with the drive up. I told the wife then that was kind of dangerous because if the guy on the platform fell he would land on the spinning prop. They also slowly headed off towards the west end of the island. I heard from another source that the girl had jumped into the water and got her hair caught in the prop and it pulled her into the wheel. If the accident happened on the boat we noticed with the drive problem it may make "some" sense as to how this happened. The article did mention the boat had reported some type of mechanical problems earlier.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Boating Accident

I am not sure how you get sucked in by prop "wash" .

QC, you ever been anywhere sitting still when a tug and tow has went by?
If you have then you know what prop wash is.
It's the sucking of the water from the bank and churning it under and washing it out the back of the tug.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Boating Accident

Anytime anyone is in the water, the key is out of the switch. This includes boarding skiers. Small inconvenience compared to the alternative.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Boating Accident

Sad, sad ending for a moment of carelessness. SOP on every craft operated within our "group" no one boards or disembarks if the engine is running.....NO ONE. After picking up or putting in the "all clear" must be given to the captain BEFORE the engine is restarted and again before the boat is put in gear. I reckon thats why in 15+ years of water sports we have yet to foul a prop with the tow rope.

 

[QC]

Re: Boating Accident

It's the sucking of the water from the bank and churning it under and washing it out the back of the tug.

Yeah, that makes sense to me, but not at the stern i.e. ladder . . . I guess literally I call wash the water being pushed away from the boat; the white stuff behind the boat. Maybe the whole deal, the suck side and the blow side is referred to as wash?

Oh, and BTW, when I said "not 100%" above I meant I am trying to go that way ("clear") even when nobody has been in the water . . . Can help with ropes, dock lines, snags, and people that we didn't have on board our boat . . . I stopped the key out thing a few years back as I think that is unsafe too. I don't want to be fumbling for it, or describing where it is to someone else if we need a quick start for a safety issue as well. All of these things are tough calls if you ask me.

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Boating Accident

What a sad story, especially for her kids. Another instance where common sense and boating safety course could have prevented a tragedy.​

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Boating Accident

. . . I stopped the key out thing a few years back.....

Thats one step we never took. I guess i never saw the point.

 

[QC]

Re: Boating Accident

Thats one step we never took. I guess i never saw the point.

When I used to do it I considered it just one more opportunity for me to think before I cranked it . . . Again, I don't do it anymore. I have been in a situation, for example, when I had a panicked kid swimmer in frigid water, in 4 MPH current and heading for rocks. I would not want to be fumbling for keys in that situation . . .

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Boating Accident

I learned today that not only was she training for a position where my wife works but she was also a full time employee at the real estate office where my step daughter works.