Life Jackets Avert Family Tragedy
Illawarra Mercury
Monday April 1, 2002
A family of five found out how important life jackets are when their new boat capsized in Jervis Bay yesterday.
The mother and father and their three young children were all wearing life jackets when their 4.5m open runabout tipped over in rough conditions in Callala Bay, in northern Jervis Bay, about 12.10pm.
It was the family's first outing in the new boat.
Waterways Authority spokesman Neil Patchett said the family were not in the water for long and were picked up by a nearby boat.
``The southerly winds and waves made it rough - it was not the sort of conditions for a small craft to be in the water," Mr Patchett said.
The boat was salvaged by the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol and the authority is investigating the incident.
Mr Patchett said the fact the family were all wearing life jackets meant it was easier for people to see them in the water and to actually rescue them.
``He (the father) has made the right choice early on - because of the rough conditions," said Mr Patchett.
The authority is conducting a statewide life jacket awareness campaign and he said the family's rescue was a good example of why life jackets were critical pieces of safety equipment on boats.
Mr Patchett said the authority was concerned about the growing number of small boats capsizing in rough seas.
``We have to work harder to educate the boating public of NSW," he said.
Boat skippers needed to do careful preparation before taking their boats out - this included checking the weather forecast and sea charts, the suitability of the boat to the conditions and the location of safe havens in the event of conditions becoming bad.
© 2002 Illawarra Mercury
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