Lessons from a tinny capsize

When boating, situations can take a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. Take the two boaters off Geelong on April 7, 2017. When one of the men tripped and fell, their boat capsized. It was around 11.15pm. Quick as that. Splash! Darkness.

Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) says there are some good lessons to be learnt from this accident that had a happy ending. We couldn't agree more with the advice that follows which applies when boating just about anywhere in Australia.

Boating incident statistics reveal that capsizes in small boats — often from standing up to take a pee over the side — result in a great proportion of serious boating accidents and drownings. At night, the risks are double. If you have been drinking, you are gone.

THE GEELONG CAPSIZE
TSV says the 3.9m Stacer tinny capsized off the Grain Pier at Geelong adjacent to the No. 1 channel marker.

While the pair had all the required safety equipment onboard, the sudden capsize of the vessel rendered their mobile phones useless by the water.

Fortunately, the two men were wearing lifejackets. The master of the vessel was holding a waterproof torch, so they were able to signal their predicament to nearby vessels who came to the rescue.

The boaters spent only about 10-15 minutes in the water and were given the all clear by Ambulance Victoria. The vessel was recovered from the water later in the night.

Despite being prepared and experienced, the boaters ended up in the water with no real means of raising the alarm and, with just a torch, were extremely lucky to be rescued.

WHAT WENT RIGHT
>> Weather forecast had been checked and type of vessel, destination and intended trip time were suitable for the anticipated weather.
>> Lifejackets were worn, and inflated as intended once the occupants entered the water.
>> Torch worked in the water and floated.
>> Capsized vessel floated and gave the occupants something to hang on to.
>> Other vessels in the area heard yelling and tug spotted the torchlight.
>> Anchor light was working even when vessel was towed back to shore.

WHAT WENT WRONG
>> A mobile phone was on board, but was not in a waterproof pouch and was unusable wet.
>> The flares were in a bag that was not accessible once the vessel had capsized.
>> The boat was fitted with buoyancy foam that did not float the boat upright once it had capsized.

More from Transport Safety Victoria about at this webpage about What to do in a Boating Emergency.