Attitude Problem

[Jimbo1490]

People die in boating accidents all the time, but nobody pays any attention. Here in Central Florida, we hear about a fatal accident almost every week. There were two fatalities locally over the weekend when two passengers were thrown from a powerboat on a lake and drowned. When you consider how much fewer man-hours are spent on boats compared to cars, the passengers on boats have a much higher fatal accident rate.

There is something inherently unsafe about boats, and that is of course that they travel on water. If you get hurt and/or if your boat becomes unseaworthy, you will find yourself in great peril.

This inherent danger can be overcome just by changing the behavior of the boat operator. But, unlike the situation with cars, this is still essentially totally voluntary; nobody really makes you change your behavior to become a safe boater.

At some point you wake up to the fact that we the human operators/passengers in boats are fragile and the ocean (or even a lake) is big and unforgiving. A good scare could be a good start, or the last voyage Maybe a trip to the emergency room? What does it take?

Jimbo

[Fanie]

So good design is actually bad since it gives a false sense of security

I think attitude says it best, and applies to everything that involves risk.

[safewalrus]

Originally Posted by Jimbo1490

People die in boating accidents all the time, but

Jimbo

luckily they only get to do it once - death ain't habit forming! So best not to do it the first time................

[Guest-3-12-09-9-21]

I like what Homer Simpson said...

"Everybody's stupid. That's why everybody does everything!"

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

--Chuck

[PAR]

Imagine for a moment, an example of primitive man, standing on the Serengeti planes and he thinks he sees something from the corner of his eye. It could be a lion so he runs. Or he could have stood firm, thinking it was the wind and been wrong. We are the direct descendants of those that ran . . .

[Kay9]

Not the ones that ran off the cliff.

[PAR]

And lived long enough to breed . . .

[Trevlyns]

There you go again... sex sex SEX!!!

[Guest-3-12-09-9-21]

Good judgement comes from experience. Experience, quite often, comes from moments of bad judgement.

[Tim B]

Fanie,

Get them out in a dinghy with reasonable performance, and give them a few lessons. Dinghies react faster than full-scale yachts and have more memorable effects when you get it wrong. I've scared myself a few times.

Also think about getting them to read the MAIB report about the dinghy trajedy off the north coast of wales (or at least the thread on this forum). That could have been a perfectly safe trip with a little experience.

ANYBODY who thinks that you don't need to respect the sea will get corrected VERY quickly.

Good luck,

Tim B.

[safewalrus]

If they got no respect the only way they will get it is a BIG fright, trouble is to do that you have to be in the boat with them! sod that it may scare the 5h1t out of you too! Stick 'em in the boat, give it a shove and leave 'em be!

[timgoz]

"A man that does not fear the sea will soon be drowned, for he will be going out on a day that he should not. But we, we fear the sea, and we only be drowned now & again."