Safety alert after fatal boat capsize

MARINE safety authorities are urging water users to plan ahead after two capsizing incidents on the weekend.

Marine and Safety Tasmania recreational boating manager Peter Hopkins said people needed to be aware of the risks of winter boating.

Police are yet to release the name of a recreational fisherman killed when a 5.6m fibreglass vessel capsized about 7am in the Marion Bay narrows on Sunday.

Two other men also in the boat when it capsized were rescued by fishermen and surfers.

In a separate incident, a 54year-old skipper and three crew members were rescued from the St Helens barway on the East Coast after their boat capsized on Sunday morning.

The skipper is alleged to have been operating the boat with a blood-alcohol reading above 0.05 when it overturned. He was charged by police.

Mr Hopkins said safety was based on making the right decisions before leaving the boat ramp and before leaving home.

“People have just to slow down a little bit, think about their decision-making process, check the weather and the sea conditions,” he said. “Just because there’s no wind doesn’t mean you cannot be affected by seaway conditions.”

Mr Hopkins said the biggest danger, particularly during Tasmania’s winters, was cold water.

“Probably since about 2001, around 68 per cent of boating fatalities have occurred in water 15C or less.

“That causes all sorts of is- sues with heart attacks and if you haven’t got a life jacket on, your chances of survival are really slim.

“If you have got a life jacket on and it works, then you’re not using up your body heat and energy so you will tend to last longer in cold water.”

Mr Hopkins said people tended to take drinking while boating less seriously than drink-driving in a car.

He said making the right decisions and planning ahead were the most important steps in marine safety.

“There’s a slogan that says if you’re the skipper, you’re responsible, and that’s exactly right.

“The people in charge of the boat have got to sit back and tell themselves they have the lives of other people that they are responsible for.”