Paddleboarding tragedy (why did she do this?)

The other instructor, the one that actually raised concerns and suggested a different route, went in to help.

Any sympathy she deserved for it being a mistake or lapse of judgement is completely removed by the fact that she left those people to drown due to her own stupidity rather than doing everything in her power to help. She absolutely deserves 10 years, those poor families.

it's insane - most of them weren't wearing wetsuits and one wasn't wearing any sort of safety device.

I do quite a bit of paddleboarding - any classes/group outings I've been on you HAVE to wear a safety vest even if you're a great swimmer and it's on, say, a fairly shallow pond in calm conditions, which is probably the safest place you can do it. They will not let you on the water without it. I don't like wearing them - I'm big boobed so with a thick vest as well it makes it much harder to get back on the board if you fall off - but in flowing water they should be non-negotiable.

you are also strongly encouraged to wear wetsuits - the times I don't are, for example, in the ocean abroad in august - not late October in Pembrokeshire! They would have been freezing if they fell in even in a less dangerous area.

even if you go to a managed location (e.g. a lake/reservoir specifically set up for watersports) you're supposed to have personal insurance if you use your own gear, and you're not even supposed to go on lots of rivers/canals without a watersports license (not entirely sure about whether the route they took was one of these).

It was just a ridiculous location for anyone to go paddleboarding in that weather, let alone people with minimal experience. Even if she didn't cancel it completely (which a lot of people would have) I honestly don't understand why she didn't agree with the other leader to do it in a safer location - she wouldn't have lost any money by doing so.

Sending people over a dangerous weir without the correct equipment?

Sounds pretty murdery to me.

No but it was manslaughter

Cluelessness and recklessness? Difficult to comprehend how the trip went ahead.

But she was negligent on a number of levels, so manslaughter.

You can read the sentencing guidelines for gross negligence manslaughter:
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/gross-negligence-manslaughter/

The sentence was what I expected based on the guidelines.

She was responsible for the deaths of 4 people. I think it's a very lenient sentence, particularly as she is unlikely to serve the full time.

She will be out in 4 years, that's the travesty here

She wasn't intending to kill them, so it wasn't murder.

When this story first came out DH was horrified. He coaches kayaking and the stuff you have to do to be qualified is hefty. He straight away said the weather was terrible, going over a weir was insane and he bet they weren't all wearing buoyancy aids because there were too many numpties who paddle boarded who thought they were too cool for them.

He's seen idiots doing all sorts before and thought paddle boarding was badly regulated.

As it turns out pretty much everything he said has proved to be spot on. It was so predictable and so preventable.

She deserves 10 years.

As others have said, I think it was pure arrogance and recklessness. I was shocked when I heard the sentence but then realised that she'll probably serve less than half of that. I think she got off lightly for causing the death of four people which were completely preventable if she'd acted responsibly.

I absolutely don't have sympathy for her however....

One person decided not to wear their buoyancy aid (yes she should have demanded they did but they were all adults).

Paddleboards are provided with ankle leashes which aren't safe. They should be used with quick release waist straps. These should be provided as norm when you buy a paddleboard. You don't buy a car, then seatbelts (anymore).

I don't think the above would have made a difference to the death toll but they may have helped.

Gross neglect manslaughter should have resulted in a 18 years sentence.
I hope the families appeal

I think people often massively underestimate how difficult it is to coach people to safety when they are frightened and panicking. They look at something risky and think ‘I can handle that’, completely ignoring the fact that other people’s behaviour is not predictable. Can you handle it whilst also holding on to someone else who is thrashing and screaming?

That said, even the tiniest bit of appropriate training would have taught her this.

Should’ve been longer.

Didn’t take next of kin details so one family weren’t told their loved one had died for 12 hours

I listened to this on the radio on the day of the sentencing. She was completely negligent. She didn't give them necessary safety equipment, didn't do a risk assessment, didn't check the course conditions and took them out at a time of flooding and severe weather warnings.

Don't think it was murder

It was a clear cut case of her being the person in charge of making the negligent decisions, and the fact that she'd done health and safety training with both the police and RNLI. So the guilty verdict was straightforward.

The more complicated situations involving large organisations/ corps can be just as culpable but hard to pin blame on.

I was pleased to hear they are bringing in fines for water companies who pollute open water.

Ten years for four murders?

Horrendous.

Humans are terrible at judging risk.

It is why we have to have safety policies and procedures that people must follow - without structures that have been carefully drawn up, people make much riskier choices than they actually understand.

Combined with a bit of arrogance and it is a deadly combo.

She was referred to as arrogant in court. I remember the case at the time and wondered what had happened but the whole trip was an accident waiting to happen with no health and safety briefing or risk assessment etc which the judge said she would have known was essential as she was a police officer and volunteered for the RNLI.

I will say that I was also surprised at the ten year sentence.