Mandatory life jackets a good idea
Everyone using a speedboat service to cross Freetown harbour in Sierra Leone, West Africa must use life jackets - including all the crew members. Such a rule makes abundant sense for the many excursion boats in B.C. waters.
My former colleague Sandy Macdougall, longtime reporter at the Tri-City News and Maple Ridge News, made an excellent comment on his Facebook page about the terrible tragedy in Tofino yesterday.
He said: "Why aren't all passengers on any size whale watching vessel required to wear either a life jacket or a survival suit? Although the Leviathan II had sufficient life jackets on board, it appears that no passenger or crew member was wearing one. It reminds me of the few occasions when I covered drowning victims at Pitt Lake where the boats involved all had life jackets carefully stowed away and which were entirely useless to the victims because there just isn't time to dig them out and put them on properly in a sudden emergency. Federal regulations governing these matters are in serious need of a thorough review."
The Canadian Red Cross has also added its voice to this debate in light of the tragedy, calling for life jackets to be used when people are out on the water, not just available.
There are certain situations, as when aboard a B.C. ferry, where that isn't practical, but in most cases, it is something that can be done quite easily.
River rafting operators insist on people using life jackets when rafting - a wise move, given the chances of ending up in the water. Whale watching expeditions, although not operating in such challenging conditions, do engender some of the same types of risks. We witnessed a small whale watching boat near Active Pass this summer, as we were going by on a ferry to Vancouver Island. It was much smaller than the boat that capsized off Tofino, and given its proximity to the path taken by the massive ferry, I'm sure it was rocking mightily when the wake hit it.
When we were in Sierra Leone in 2013, we at first travelled across Freetown harbour by ferry. The airport is on the far side of the harbour from the city and virtually everyone arriving in the country has to get across the water somehow.
The ferry was overloaded and if it had sank, it is doubtful there were anywhere near enough life rafts or life jackets. Rules and regulations are minimal there, and even if they exist, enforcement is rare.
People use the ferry because it is cheap, but it is a slow trip. It took us about four hours from the time we arrived at the airport to actually land in Freetown. When we did, pickpockets stole my wallet as we were disembarking. The crush of people made for plenty of easy targets for light-fingered thieves, and I wasn't the only victim.
When we left the country three weeks later, we took a speedboat across the water to get to the airport. It only took about 20 minutes to cross the harbour, and connected to a bus that takes passengers directly to the airport. Everyone on the boat must wear a life jacket.
A few weeks after we were in Freetown, a canoe loaded with people trying to cross the harbour was struck (in the darkness) by another boat, and most people in it drowned. Canoes are used because they are even cheaper than the ferry, but they are very high-risk. Of course they do not have running lights either.
I'm all for having people who are on water excursions wear life jackets. They may be a bit cumbersome, but they prevent drowning.
By the way, many thanks to the people of Tofino and Ahousaht who rescued most of the people aboard the stricken whale watching boat on Sunday. Their quick actions saved many lives. Once again, coastal First Nations people played an important role in preventing a marine disaster from getting much worse. The people of Hartley Bay played a key role when the Queen of the North struck Gill Island and sank in 2006.
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