OTHER CAUSES OF MARINE CASUALTIES
Shown below are some of the more common types of marine casualties. Prevention of these casualties can be achieved by simple common sense measures such as; knowing where your boat is in relation to people in the water, slowing down, maintaining a proper lookout, and learning of local hazards.
Skier mishap
Causes:
- Hands or feet caught in the towline due to lack of communications
between towboat operator and skier.
- Operating too close to the shoreline, shoreline structures, buoys or
boats.
- Operating too fast for the skier’s abilities.
- Improper retrieval methods.
- Carbon Monoxide asphyxiation when skiers are near engine exhausts.
Prevention:
- Always communicate with skier and observer.
- Operate well away from the shoreline, docks or other structures.
- Know your skier’s abilities and don’t operate beyond them.
- Turn of the engine when skiers are preparing to enter the water, or during retrieval when the person is within swimming distance of the boat.
- Never allow teak surfing or dragging as the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, or severe injury, is great.
Collision with another vessel or object
Causes:
- Lack of a proper lookout.
- Not following the established navigation rules of the road.
- Excessive speed.
Prevention:
- Always maintain a proper lookout.
- Know and follow the navigation rules.
- Go slow when in unfamiliar waters or when maneuvering in close-quarter situations such as docking or getting underway from a dock.
Striking a submerged object
Causes:
- Improper lookout and/or excessive speed.
- Not knowing the local area or consulting a chart.
- Plain bad luck, as many times there is no way to see a submerged or
partially submerged object before striking it.
Prevention:
- Maintain a proper and effective lookout at all time.
- Learn the local area and use the appropriate charts.
- Operate slowly when in unfamiliar areas or after recent heavy rains.
Vessel, propeller, propulsion unit, or steering machinery strikes a person
Causes:
- Not knowing where people are in relation to the boat is a major cause of
propeller strikes.
- Follow the established safety rules by always shutting off the engine
when retrieving skiers, or swimmers.
- Persons falling out of the boat due to sudden unexpected maneuver, excessive speed, bow riding, or
horseplay.
Prevention:
- Maintain a proper lookout and a safe speed.
- Always shut of the engine(s) when preparing to put the skier in the water or when the skier is retrieved.
- Wear a lanyard or electronic type “kill switch” that will shut off the engine when the lanyard is pulled or the electronic kill switch is submerged in water.
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