Small boat safety reminder after Scalloway incident
A REMINDER has been made to be safe at sea when heading out in small boats following an incident in Scalloway last month.
Two people were ejected from their boat and into the water in the village’s harbour on 13 August after colliding with a navigation buoy.
They were safely retrieved from the water by other harbour users soon after.
Interim harbourmaster Ross Gordon told a meeting of Shetland Islands Council’s (SIC) harbour board on Wednesday that the two people were “very lucky”.
He said the council, which operates Scalloway Harbour, has communicated with the boat’s owner.
Gordon said the SIC is still investigating the incident, but he told councillors that a “primary” factor was speed.
“It’s a common complaint that we have, and ports around the country have,” he added.
Gordon said the council has been in contact with other agencies such as the RNLI, coastguard and Lerwick Port Authority and is keen to run a safety campaign in the spring.
Infrastructure director John Smith said incidents of people falling into the water are “not uncommon”.
But he said a safety campaign could focus on things like lifejackets and pull cords.
Smith continued by saying the key reminder is that “going to sea is dangerous”.
“It’s all very well having reactive measures, but you really dunna want to have to get to that.”
Smith said one positive from the Scalloway incident was the response from other harbour users and their quick action.
The idea of a safety campaign was supported by Lerwick North and Bressay councillor Stephen Leask, who highlighted the potential consequences of incidents on small boats.
He stressed he did not want to curtail anyone’s enjoyment but said it was important to emphasise to the public that using small boats comes with responsibilities.
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Leask said there was a case of someone coming to Shetland a number of years ago in an inadequate boat with no knowledge – “that had calamitous – pardon the pun here – consequences”, he added.
Harbour board chairman Robert Thomson said there needs to be a “broad church” of organisations – such as the RNLI and local marine groups – involved in any safety campaign.
The North Isles councillor said Shetland has “tremendous seafaring knowledge” and that the “vast majority” of boat users are responsible.
“But there’s always new people getting into boating,” Thomson added.
Meanwhile Shetland North member Andrea Manson questioned if safety awareness could be brought into schools.
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