Rower presumed dead in boating accident on Lake Stevens (WA, USA)
Dave Sill
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - The search resumes this morning for a man presumed
drowned in Lake Stevens, east of Everett.
Two people - a 50-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man - in a rowing
shell were struck by a speed boat that was driven by a 17-year-old male.
The rowing shell tipped. The woman made it out, but the man is still
missing.
Dive teams and other crews suspended their search about 10 p.m., and
concede that they are working it as a recovery effort.
The accident happened about half a mile from the North Cove of Lake
Stevens.
Police say the rowers were members of the Lake Stevens Rowing Club and
they were out performing an exercise in one of the shells when the ski
boat rammed it.
"The motorboat didn't see the crew boat in the water," said aone rower
who saw the accident.
"Accidents do happen in every sport there is. It's just hard to believe
it happened here in Lake Stevens, close to home, effecting my friends,"
said Jane Jacobsen, a friend of the rowers.
Three teens in the ski boat were not injured.
Carl Douglas
We know nothing about this event beyond what has been reported, but we
know a man is dead. The correspondence following the report is a mix of
relevant information & depressingly empty aggression.
My first question is: what right has anyone to zoom around a beautiful
lake in a powerboat, & at dusk without keeping an eagle-eyed lookout?
Especially when it's a bunch of 17-yr olds? A pointless, exercise-free
jolly, then suddenly a grim tragedy with many lives damaged.
Next: if it is known that such powerboat activity is not uncommon, &
goes un-policed, do local rowers ensure their boats are highly visible.
What a dreadful waste.
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email: ca...@carldouglas.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk (boats) & www.aerowing.co.uk (riggers)
Carl Douglas
Update:
http://www.king5.com/news/Divers-searching-for-body-of-rower-in-Lake-Stevens-101178674.html
Body of David Balbirona, father of 4 children who started rowing a year
ago, has been recovered by divers.
Video images show a 2x, apparently hit near the bowman. Starboard side
of hull is crushed, the port arm of bow's wing rigger is missing. So
perhaps a diagonal impact into the bow stateroom?
Postings on website ranging from honourably defensive of the young
ski-boat driver to all manner of wild remarks. Some wildly abuse rowers
for not wearing PFDs.
It seems the ski-boat was towing a skier at the time, so we may guess at
a ~40kt impact (the launch driver is reported not to have seen the
shell). The damage to the shell may suggest the bowman was hit fairly
directly. In which case the impact would have been straight to his
upper body/head region. The boat would have rolled over after that
initial impact, or been rolled by the passage across it of the launch
Road accident stats show a high fatality risk in any collision between a
30mph car & a pedestrian, but such collisions are rarely directly
against the upper body/head, which is the region I'd suppose to be most
vulnerable to fatal consequences. If the closing velocity was 40kt,
that implies twice the impact energy of a 30mph collision, suggesting
the impact was probably fatal of itself. And we don't know if Mr.
Balbirona suffered further injury, e.g. from the propeller.
So it's hard to see how a life-jacket would have saved this victim.
Presumably those ploughing that particular furrow are trying to find
some way, any way, to transplant blame onto the scullers, & one has to
wonder what they have between their ears. It should be noted that the
other crew member did survive, despite no PFD.
That does not mean that scullers would not benefit from carrying PFDs.
On lakes they could make even more sense. Just that the sculler died
because of the collision, not because he had no PFD.
Water safety is never enhanced by knee-jerk & ill-informed reactions,
nor the me-first attitudes of some water users. It does benefit greatly
from good, regular communications between all user groups leading to
realistic policies & the shared enforcement of good practice.
This collision supposedly happened because a launch driver travelling at
speed did not or could not see the scullers. Had he seen them, & had he
& the scullers not been sharing the same bit of a large lake, we'd not
be discussing this. If visibility was less than good, as has been
suggested, then the launch (with a local driver) should not have been
driving outside its safe visibility range. And maybe the scullers could
have made themselves more visible, knowing the apparently wayward habits
of some local launch drivers?
The real questions remain unanswered & we'll have to wait. What is sure
is that many lives have been irreparably damaged, as well the one that
was lost. Not a lot of fun.
pdb
>
And maybe the scullers could
> have made themselves more visible, knowing the apparently wayward habits
> of some local launch drivers?
>
> The real questions remain unanswered & we'll have to wait. What is sure
> is that many lives have been irreparably damaged, as well the one that
> was lost. Not a lot of fun.
>
> Carl
>
> --
> Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
> Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
> Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
> Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
> URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk(boats) &www.aerowing.co.uk(riggers)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
I certainly think that 'hi-viz. tops should become the norm for
scullers, perhaps also coxes and bow rowers/scullers. On a
construction site in the UK they are mandatory so that crane drivers
(and others) can see where there is a risk of of danger. This is also
the case on roads where I am working.
Sandy Sorlien
Carl and all,
This topic hits home as I have been rowing my new Echo for the past
two weeks on a part of Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island) popular on
weekends with waterskiers, jetskis, motorboats pulling tire tubes full
of children, and other high-speed highly dangerous and annoyingly loud
activity. It is terribly sad that this man died this way. The problem
is that these kinds of boating don't mix well, much less swimming in
such areas. However, I refuse to give up swimming and rowing here
just because of these morons. Yes, of course we should wear hi-viz,
that's easy, but if the driver is looking back at the skier not ahead,
and doing the swooping turns they love to do, it doesn't matter how
bright a lime green or signal orange you have on. They should watch
out for kayaks and shells at all times, but they can't be counted on
to do so.
Rowers, too, have to look out for the swimmers and scuba divers and
other small boats. Kayakers are facing the wrong way, so they can't
yell "Look ahead" if we are overtaking them.
Yesterday (Saturday) on this cove was nuts, just crazy fast boats.
It's a wonder people aren't killed here every week. I don't know what
the rules are for licensing motorboat drivers, if any... I assume it
varies from state to state. But drunken boat driving is very common. I
don't row in the peak crazy hours. I go out early and/or in bad
weather, which is more fun anyway in this shell. If motorboats are
approaching I move closer to shore. I wear a bright red Stormy Seas
short vest PFD. But none of this will save me from a bad driver.
Sandy
Carl Douglas
The following is a recent example of abusive driving of powered boats:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11035363
I doubt the youngster whose boat killed this sculler was such a fool,
but you needn't be foolish to kill with a powerboat. First, the shared
assumption of too many power boaters that their engine power means they
own the water (Mr. Toad knew that). Next, breaching of a fundamental
rule of navigation - to keep a good lookout at all times. And maybe
your mate (or an urge to make some fancy turn) distracted you - easy for
any young driver. But I expect there was worse driving by some supposed
adults that day.
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Roger
> URLs: www.carldouglas.co.uk(boats) &www.aerowing.co.uk(riggers)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Hi Viz tops would help, hi viz boats may also. I scull here in Norfolk
VA the stretch of water being fairly well populated by water skiiers
and jetskis plus the crab boats. The area is well policed but there is
no speed limit despite this being a smallish body of water. I tend to
keep well away from the channel and usually wear bright clothing but
sometimes not. As a sculler I'm always looking for other objects in
and on the water and other sculling boats are usually hard to see. The
hulls are normally white or grey (mine is predominatly white) and the
clothing tends also to be white, plus we don't make a lot of noise. I
guess it depends on the water you're on, the conditions and time of
day but singles and doubles are difficult to see even if you're
looking for them.
Teenagers driving fast in a speed boat with a water skier behind, my
experience is that some are more responsible than other, none though
want to run anyone down and I would not like to be in this particular
17 year olds shoes anymore than I would the family of the man that has
so tragically been killed in this incident.
Roger
Virginia Rowing
Dave Sill
A letter to the editor that highlights the victim's (and his club's)
committment to safety and includes a photo of the victim:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/
northwestvoices/2012704012_lakestevensrowerdiedaftercrashwithspeedboat.html
An article:
http://www.lakestevensjournal.com/news/
article.exm/2010-08-23_rower_loses_his_life_on_lake_stevens
An editorial by the author of the above article:
http://www.lakestevensjournal.com/editorial/
article.exm/2010-08-23_boating_tragedy_strikes_many_in_lake_stevens_
from which I quote:
"But Lake Stevens is known for its compassion, empathy and its strength
when it comes to uniting for the greater good. Let’s each continue to
mourn for all of those lives that have been affected in this tragic
accident and remember them in our prayers."
Here's my reply (ne...@lakestevensjournal.com), though I'm sure Carl could
do much better:
"Compassion, empathy, strength, mourning, remembrance, and prayers are
all well and good, but they won't do anything to prevent similar
accidents in the future. Who is addressing the fundamental safety
problems that this incident demonstrated? Or should Lake Stevens just
be prepared to have compassion, empathy, strength, etc. the next time?"
-Dave
Carl Douglas
Your comment, if published, can't be bettered. But you're not a local,
so I suspect it will count for very little.
There's a need to get very serious if such pointless accidents are to be
reduced. And there's a need to show genuine sympathy for those
affected. Unfortunately, the feelings of those most affected can make
it unwelcome, at first, to point out that there are simple ways to
minimise such risks which do not infringe anyone's freedom. And
pointing out thus that basic rules may have been broken gets countered
with sob stuff about how badly affected the launch driver is, or by
blaming the victim (which, as we know, is what happens within rowing too).
I see that it's now said that there were several sculling boats afloat
at the time, & that the launch was inside the no-wake zone. You can be
a little bit wrong & usually get away with it, but launches at speed in
or near no wake zones is not just a little bit wrong. And death strikes
as an indivisible 100% chunk.
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: http://tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Dave Sill
> There's a need to get very serious if such pointless accidents are to be
> reduced. And there's a need to show genuine sympathy for those
> affected. Unfortunately, the feelings of those most affected can make
> it unwelcome, at first, to point out that there are simple ways to
> minimise such risks which do not infringe anyone's freedom. And
> pointing out thus that basic rules may have been broken gets countered
> with sob stuff about how badly affected the launch driver is, or by
> blaming the victim (which, as we know, is what happens within rowing
> too).
I can think a few things that can be done, but some infringe someone's
freedom. E.g., requiring powerboat drivers to be licensed (and insured),
requiring rowers to wear PFDs (*). Requiring rowers to wear high-vis tops
wouldn't be much of an imposition. Better enforcement of existing rules
would help, but that costs real money.
What are some of the ways I'm missing?
-Dave
* - PFDs aren't foolproof and won't prevent direct injury from a
powerboat collision, and may well not have helped in this case except to
speed recovery of the body, but they certainly can save lives when the
wearer is knocked unconscious.
Carl Douglas
No problems with what you say, Dave, except to note that PFDs which do
not incommode the range & speed of a serious flat-water rower's movement
may not yet be a done deal.
The essence is that safety rules must be well-designed, published
widely, respected & rigorously applied. That requires consensus between
all user groups, & consistent enforcement Seems there were rules about
no-wake zones, but it seems that they were ignored or thought bendable.
It seems that earlier reports of power-boat misconduct were ignored by
police. It may be that local police think power-boating such healthy
fun that they can safely ignore those who choose to sweat, go slowly &
go backwards in daft craft which have no way to evade an unsighted
driver high on adrenaline & heading straight for them. That too needs
addressing - their apparent failure to respond may have fostered an
ultimately fatal sense of impunity among some power-boat users.
Sorting out that lot, & requiring user licenses which can be revoked for
rules breaches, would infringe no one's liberty, except their bogus
liberty to kill the innocent. Rowers could start by convening, as a
fitting memorial to David Balbirona, discussions between all parties to
agree & implement enforceable safety rules. And it would not hurt
either to increase rower visibility at all times.