Prior to My Post About the Incident
It is not my intention to sensationalize this incident.
On the contrary. Here on RIBsONLY.com I share safety-related information to help ensure you can enjoy your trip to the fullest.
We always can learn, is my motto.
Let me be also clear. RIBs ONLY is also not a court. The UK based MAIB* presents facts and recommendations about boating incidents, but it is not a court either.
Know that the skipper holds full responsibility for all passengers on board, meaning persons and animals.
He/she is also responsible for the condition of the boat, all its equipment, including all safety items, and its engines.
The skipper makes various decisions to avoid any form of incidents. These include interpreting all conditions and applying knowledge of the area.
Assessing the weather and sea state is also part of their responsibility (more info about the sea state).
Safety always begins with common sense — and sometimes that means deciding not to go out on the water at all.
So now, let’s dive into the incident that happened at a very low speed. Our thoughts are with the 28-year-old injured passenger.
The text and link below is © Crown copyright, 2025 and was published on the 21st of August 2025.
Tip: if you want to know all the details of this incident, check the full report. It’s absolutely worth it: factual study and the narrative (page 3).
Synopsis of the Full Report of the Incident
Report on the investigation of a serious injury to a passenger on the sea safari rigid inflatable boat Lundy Explorer at Ilfracombe, England on 7 June 2023.
On 7 June 2023, the Rigid Inflatable Boat Lundy Explorer departed Ilfracombe Harbour for a sea safari trip.
While leaving the harbour the boat encountered a high wave, which caused it to slam into an oncoming wave.
A passenger sat in a jockey seat in the front of the boat where the highest shock loads were experienced was dislodged from her seat,.
This resulted in a fracture of her spinal column and permanent paralysis.
The Investigation Found that …
The local weather conditions had deteriorated quickly and this resulted in choppy seas and increased wave heights that Lundy Explorer’s skipper had not expected.
The position of the jockey seats at the front of the boat were unsuitable for single occupancy as they exposed passengers to high shock load as the boat slammed into the waves.
The pre-departure safety briefing did not include adequate instruction on the use of the seats and the passengers were unaware of the risks.
The owner of Lundy Explorer, Ilfracombe Sea Safari Limited, has restricted the use of the front jockey seats except in benign conditions.
The company has been recommended to improve operating procedures and risk assessments through the implementation of a safety management system.
The company has also been recommended to install real-time measuring equipment to its RIBs to enable the person at the helm to protect passengers and crew from the effects of vibration and shocks during excursions.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been recommended to extend the anthropometric** study, previously recommended in MAIB’s Seadogz report.
This should include the effect of forces experienced in the front section of high-speed boats.
It should also include a requirement in the forthcoming document.
This document is The Code of Practice for the Safety of Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure (The Sport or Pleasure Vessel Code).
Operators need to assess and mitigate the risks of seating people in the front third of a high-speed boat.
The Royal Yachting Association, British Marine, and the Professional Charter Association have been recommended to promulgate this report to their members.
*MAIB stands for Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
**Anthropometric research is a method of study in which the physical dimensions and proportions of the human body are measured and analyzed.