Simple mistakes, costly rescues
Posted on September 02nd 2009
After yet another false alarm the coastguard has urged all boat owners to identifiably mark all boating tenders in their possession, which could save rescue teams valuable time and money.
Southampton coastguards received a civilian call after they had spotted an upturned boat at 9pm, Thursday 28 August. After a rescue team, two lifeboats, helicopter and shore team had been launched to recover the potentially ill-fated passengers of the upturned inflatable raft, they discovered the emergency to be a false alarm
Meanwhile the onshore team at Southampton located the owner of the upturned vessel aboard his larger residential boat, who had not noticed the absence of his inflatable mooring.
A man-over-board situation is the most deadly accident to befall seamen especially if unprepared and the coastguard only has a matter of minutes to help aid passengers in this life or death incident.
The coastguard stressed that if sailors and yachtsmen took more care whilst at sea and marked all boats they would not only be increasing their own safety on the water but could also save the coastguard's time and money.
It can cost thousands of taxpayer's money to deploy a full-on rescue team, which is wasted in the event of a false alarm; a somewhat simple mistake can cause costly repercussions.
A coastguard watch officer summed up the message quite clearly, "It's a little bit of forward planning on behalf of owners but it could save us a lot of time and trouble."
Insure My Boat offers fully comprehensive boat insurance policies for all of your boating needs.
Other news stories
- Catamaran camelot partially submerged
- Struggling passenger dinghy left adrift
- Lifejacket to the rescue
- Boat insurance void with drink-sailing
- Adventurous boat insurance needed for intrepid explorer
- Immediate remedy of burns
- Belfast Maritime Festival ends amongst many waving flags
- Bronze age boat to sail again
- Dover Regatta loses life
- 14 overturned in Scottish Regatta
- Dolphin joins the party
- Sail to the American Dream
