Fatal Accident with a Family Rigid Inflatable Boat – a Survivor Testifies

Victiora’s husband Nick and eight year old daughter Emily were killed and Victoria lost her left leg below the knee. No kill cord, it turned out to be a fatal accident…

This speedboat accident left Victoria coping with grief, supporting her surviving children and adjusting to life with a disability.

She says: “I now tick boxes, which I could never have dreamed of: widow, trauma victim, amputee and bereaved mother.”

May 5, 2013, an entire family was catapulted from a RIB (source RYA and MAIB). The 8 m RIB, powered by a 300 hp engine, sailed at high speed with 6 people on board (2 adults and 4 children) at Camel Estuary next to Padstow in Cornwall, UK.

After the people were thrown out of the boat, the uncontrolled RIB ran over the drowning people several times.

2 people were killed and 2 seriously injured.

The engine cut-out ‘kill cord’ mechanism was not activated as it had not been attached to the driver.

The above-mentioned MAIB report once again confirms that in the event of a fatal accident, an extensive investigation follows with all possible parties involved (seller of the boat, sailing school, constructor, etc.).

Out of respect the dramatic footage is not shown.

6 Thoughts to “Fatal Accident with a Family Rigid Inflatable Boat – a Survivor Testifies”

  1. Gerry Russell

    What a wonderful lady. xxx ALWAYS ALWAYS use a kill cord.

    1. Karel Overlaet, Medianaut

      No doubt about that!

  2. Lindsay Tosh

    I read the MAIB and it was just a single lapse of concentration with terrible consequences. Few of is can claim to have never done something similar. As an RYA instructor with decades of powerboat driving, I, of course, knew what happens when an uncontrolled outboard gets loose but I’d never before seen it. The film is gruesome but a salutory lesson to us all. I hope the family will take comfort from the fact that the rest of is learn the lesson and let it be shown. My best wishes to them.

    1. Karel Overlaet, Medianaut

      Lindsay, thank you or your thoughts. Still in many promo videos of motorboats skippers seldom wear the kill cord, let alone a life jacket. When I interact, they say that it’s not mandatory in their country and that they have many years of experience.

      I also often see that those on board wear life jackets, except for the skipper. He must be untouchable ….

  3. Ian Waghorn

    This is a very sobering account of a terrible accident which occurred “completely out of the blue” I am a kayaker and never paddle without a buoyancy aid – even on the local canal. In 40 years of paddling I have seen people take the most crazy risks thinking I suppose that nothing bad will ever happen to them. This story just shows what can happen in an instant. Particularly on the sea it is good to be humble and take nothing for granted

    1. Karel Overlaet, Medianaut

      Hi Ian
      Thank you for your appreciated reaction. I couldn’t agree more. Never take the sea for granted. She rules always.

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