No sign yet of man who fell overboard
(CNS): Cayman Islands Coast Guard Commander Robert Scotland has said that while there is still no sign of the man who fell off a party boat in the North Sound last night, the search and rescue operation will continue until dark. The CICG conducted the search all day Tuesday with the help of the RCIPS, including the helicopter, the Cayman Islands Fire Service and a number of private boats and personal watercraft. Speaking to the media from the coastguard’s Newlands base, Scotland said the team was still hoping for the best.
The man is understood to be a Sri Lankan national but has not yet been identified. It was reported at around 7:30pm Monday that he had fallen overboard and the search began in the area of the North Sound immediately.
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Category: Local News
It is sad to read that someone has lost their life in a situation like this. These party boats are often no more than moving sounds systems and alcohol fuelled parties. Anyone falling overboard and yelling for help is unlikely to be heard. Boats in motion at night should not be permitted to have loud music playing for this reason. Not saying people should not have fun or drink, just apply some basic safety rules.
Shut down the party boats. They are a catastrophe waiting to happen. Think Indonesian ferry disaster. It’s inevitable.
Incredibly loud, lewd, drunken, top-heavy, disruptive death-traps. Absolutely not what the Cayman tourist experience should be all about.
Or, as ever, does someone know someone who is therefore turning a blind eye to the dangers?
At the very least have police with breathalysers awaiting them when they dock, so passengers are prevented from driving away drunk.
This was bound to happen sooner or later! Shocking how many of them are crammed on these boats so if someone does go missing no one will notice. Plus the loud music would drown out any cries for help etc. Sad indeed. Very sad.
A desperate situation.
I cannot begin to imagine how the family is feeling right now.
Life is precious.
A boat captain is responsible for every soul that boards their craft, and for the entire distance from point of embarkation to point of disembarkation.
It’s not just being able to cast off ropes, use the throttle, and turn the wheel.
After dark, everyone on a boat, especially a drunk boat, should be informally assigned a paired up buddy that they are keeping an eye on.
When there was the Mardi Gras at Kaibo, we used to insist that everyone wear a glow stick.
Maybe for the sake of public health and safety we need a more formalised licensing regime, since standards of operation have become sketchier and sketchier.
There are also emergency portable inflatable life jackets that can compactly be worn on the waist, similar to a belt. If go overboard, can just pull a tab and it inflates.
These could be provided to each patron on an after-dark cruise.
Many paddleboarders use these.
Nice idea, but one doubts these boats have enough serviceable key-hole style for their booze cruise manifests. Does anyone check? The Co2 cartridge PFDs cost $100-400 a piece, and need inspection every 2-3 months and cartridge rearming yearly for $25-30 each. To put in context of how cheap our operators are: they don’t even splurge for real snorkel gear when their business is Stingray City Tours. It’s all leaky stinky latex junk made in China and ideally suited for costume parties. Giving everyone a buddy would have been free, and a box of 20 glow sticks is about $2.
He could have been overboard for a long time. Once they noticed he was not onboard is when they acted.
Why didn’t the boat turn around and assist him?
Presumably no one saw him fall off. It’s difficult to imagine they wouldn’t have turned around if they did. Even then, finding someone in the water at night is easier said than done.
Unfortunately with these party boats, they are just that. People are too drunk to notice that someone went overboard. And if nobody says anything to the captain or crew (if any crew at all) their not gonna know. To me, proper etiquette would be a head count and role call before leaving the dock and another one at the end. Yes its annoying and takes up time, but ensures safety of all souls onboard. Prayers for the victim and his family and friends.
Every single boat I have been on takes a headcount before pulling up the anchor or letting a buoy drop.
Every single boat.
This poor soul went over while under way. No one saw him go over or they would have alerted the captain immediately.
Signed
Cap’n Obvious
Haha. That’s refreshing but it doesn’t happen on the majority of these boats. You sign a waiver in the beginning then buhhhbye.
You know the waivers are worth the paper they are printed on right?
Not that many people on this 50 footer. Capacity is way <100 people. At night, with drunk people, you really should get assigned a responsible buddy. Being safe, and giving a captain's briefing would not have cost a cent.
They did not turn back because they did not know when and where he fell overboard.
I truly hope this gentleman is found unharmed. I feel for his friends, colleagues as mostly his relatives.