Small-boat accidents – Warning!

The drowning of an 81-year-old boater on Lake Macquarie last weekend and three young men in a separate accident on St Georges Basin underscore the perilous nature of tenders and small tinnies.

In the first incident, a man and his wife were heading back to their 35 foot yacht moored off Wangi Wangi after attending a nearby party on shore. The pair’s dinghy capsized throwing them into the water.

The woman managed to cling to the hull and raised the alarm just after daybreak, when she was able to swim to shore. The man’s body has since been recovered by police divers at Wangi Wangi.

We know of two other elderly but experienced boaters who met their end after their tenders tipped over on Sydney Harbour.

One of them was the much-loved Harry Driftwood, who fell from his tender off Birkenhead Point and was found face-down unable to be revived. This was just a week after his good live-aboard friend and sailor was found in the upper reaches of Middle Harbour.

Meantime, in another small-boat accident last Sunday, three people lost their lives on St Georges Basin when their small flat-bottomed tinnie capsized. It was a punt and the capsize reportedly happened when one of the men stood up.

A local resident on a paddle board rescued the sole survivor, a 22-year-old Ashcroft man, after he heard cries for help about 2.30am. None of the above was wearing a life jacket.

This is a common cause of small-boat drownings. A capsize, no life jacket and cold water.

In June last year in NSW alone seven boaters aged from 14 to 80 years drowned. The 14-year-old drowned when a tinnie overturned on Lake Macquarie in rough seas.

Laws were strengthened in NSW in 2010 to help curb the rise in small-boat accidents and its mandatory to wear a life jacket at night in a boat under 4.8 metres in length. See www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/sbh/safety_equipment/lifejackets.html.

We urge those messing about in small boats to take precaution, especially now that the water temperatures are still at winter nadirs. Visit your state maritime regulator online for clarification on your local life jacket laws and lore. The new inflatable types aren’t bulky at all.