Speedboat accident in Padstow

[LittleAbruzzenBear]

I don't know if the mother was a MNer, but I am hoping she pulls through with her other DCs and so sorry to hear she lost her husband and daughter, Emily. I know words are useless, but I am thinking of them. It's all so sad and awful.

"life changing" injuries doesn't sound good.

No. I must admit, I cried when I read that.

So very, very sad.

Horrific. For the family, the eye witnesses and all those involved in the rescue/investigation. Not what anyone wants on a nice sunny holiday weekend. I hope the surviving family members receive the care & support they need to be able to be strong and make as good progress as possible.

Mmm this is horrid , only know about it as company I work for had his boat in for re tubing last year .... my thoughts are with the family :(

How shocking.

It's horrible, isn't it? Such a terrible thing to happen and no doubt it was meant to be a treat.

I hope the surviving family members are getting the support and care they need.

Shame there was no kill cord. Just hope the surviving family are getting good care and support. Such a horrific accident.

Just heartbreaking.

Years ago a friend of dh's took me, dh and dd out in a RIB speedboat in the sea. It was his boat and I trusted him.....though I think maybe he showed off a bit. Loads of going really fast so the boat bounced up and smacked down.

I don't remember seeing a kill cord, didn't know about them as I don't know anything about boats. Scary.

It is scary. I just hope the mother doesn't blame herself in any way because it was a tragic accident.

it is just possible that the killcord failed - if they are not replaced sufficiently often they can break, so if the driver falls out of the boat, the cord breaks rather than pulling out and thus stopping the engine.

any boat where the driver can fall out must be operated with a killcord. Propeller injuries can be unspeakable.

very, very sad.

There's me naively wondering how the whole family can end up in the sea and with serious injuries - I was assuming the child's death had been drowning due to no life jacket but I had not thought of propeller injuries. Adds a bit of light to the "life changing injuries too". God how awful.

probable leg amputations from horrific injuries by the propeller was what news said earlier.

An awful accident. DH and I were both talking about it this morning, it's very sad. The poor family, presumably out for a fun day on the water and then this happens. Thinking of them all.

What a terrible accident, I hope the mum and children make a good recovery.

I have no knowledge of speedboats at all but have seen explanations on other forums that the kill cord isn't an automatic device but something the driver of the boat has to set themselves. This seems to be a safety featue that could be improved.

there was a cord, it was still in the boat.

very sad.

agree

We can't know all the details of this specific incident and obviously it's a tragedy for this family, but I do feel mrssalvo has a point. It's shocking that people can be in charge of high powered boats, jet skis etc without necessarily having the training or skills to handle them. And very often it's in close proximity to vulnerable canoeists , bathers etc
The tragedy could have been so much worse and affected others outside the family.

If the kill cord was found in the boat, then highly likely the man wasn't wearing it.

No watersports instructor would ever drive a powerboat without attaching the kill cord - but that's because we're trained.

Joe Bloggs with expensive 'toys' don't have training or qualifications, and unfortunately probably don't realise just how important one is.

Very sad story for all involved. :(

Hopefully, some legalities will come out of this. As it stands, anyone can buy a high speed boat and 'play' on the water with no training. It's absolute madness.

exactly- people have said the cord must have broken etc but it needs to be worn to work.
you wouldn't drive a car without a license but every few months a whole lot of people come to Cornwall and treat these high powered boats like toys.

So there's no training required to own one of these things? The papers said that it was their own boat. I find it shocking that someone can buy one and drive it away. These things go fast amd have sharp blades that can do a heck of a lot of damage. I'm amazed that no other folks were also hurt (swimmers, other sailors, etc).

I have driven smaller speed boats and assumed that the kill cord was automatic and a requirement.

Nope. You just go out and buy one.

Same with sailing boats.

Highly unlikely imo that the kill cord was faulty. They do wear but you would notice that as you need to put it on round the ignition to use it. And you certainly wouldn't use it if it were worn (if that makes sense) unless you had no idea just how important they are.

Kill cords are literally just red cords - it clips around the ignition that you put the other end usually around your ankle. So in the unlikely event you get thrown out of the boat it kills the engine. It's also the quickest way to kill the engine if you have to rescue someone in the water.

:( All very sad in any case.

Maybe it just slipped off, or the child fell in and the dad took it off to reach her... Too sad to consider really and awful to think about their injuries.

If I bought a boat, I'd definately get all the safety equipment and training first. Anything with an engine/capability of going over 20 miles and hour ought to have a license to operate.