Boat Hits and Seriously Injures Surfer at Currumbin Alley

[Spaniard_King]

A boat has hit a surfer on the bar at Currumbin this morning exposing the surfers skull, he was then taken aboard the boat and taken to the sand ramp at Currumbin.

The emergency paramedics were first on the scene a few minutes later with the Surf life guards and Ambulance hot on their heals. they worked on the guy for 40-50 minutes befor the ambulance left.

I was having mothersday breaky in the park next to the ramp and saw the aftermath evolve. One guy who was in the thick of it told me the guy had a lot of skull exposed.

Didn't take long befor the coppers were everywhere..like 25 -30 of them

Channel 9 were there very quickly and would have most of the footage

Best wishes to the surfer, I hope he makes it.

[Jackinthebox]

Bugger for the surfer and the skipper!

I wonder what angle the news will take?

[OPTI]

not good news ,im surprised it hasnt happened in the seaway yet ,i know ive had a couple of close calls:o

[Chimo]

1.52 pm Courier mail
A SURFER has died in hospital after being struck by a boat on the Gold Coast this morning. The man was surfing at Currumbin Alley, one of the Coast's busiest surf spots, when he was hit by a boat crossing the notorious Currumbin Bar.
He was pulled from the water and rushed to hospital but later died.
The boat driver, who helped rescue the badly injured surfer, was in shock.
Police have appealed for witnesseses to the incident.

[Angla]

That is just terrible for all concerned

I hope safety can be heightened in relation to this sort of tragedy having happened

Chris

[Spaniard_King]

Unfortunately it was something that was bound to happen sooner or later. It s a catch 22 situation. you slow down to 6 knot s and risk your own life when a wave hits your boat.

I am sure we will hear a lot more about this incident. I feel for both the driver and surfer, the driver has obviously not seen the surfer.

I would think the driver will be charged over it but thats not the answer to the problem, what are your thoughts on this?

[finding_time]

Yeh well the Skipper will be charged, there is no doubt about that, and although this inncident has already wrecked the skipper life he's in for a very tough and expensive time that's for sure.

There is a court case on at the moment that envolves a motorist who hit a bike rider at 10pm one night, the cyclist was on the wrong side of the road, had no lights on his bike and had been allegedly smoking dope and was also alledgedly weaving all over the road he had almost been hit by 2 other cars, yet the motorist is charged with vehicular manslaughter, what a great world we live in, they have to find someone to blame , even for accidents!

Was it at dawn Garry or was it later in the day??? Gees it's hard to see surfers early in the morning and late in the day!

[Spaniard_King]

Ian, It was around 8 am not sure if the boat was going in or out. Having seen the driver he looked like he new he is in for a tough road

[Knotpretty]

Sad news for all concerned. Thoughts are with the skipper and families involved.

[Axl]

Thats awful news I feel for everyone involved ive never crossed that bar myself but it sounds like a busy place. Surfers and boaties cant be a good combination.

[finga]

Sorry to hear the news but it was something that was going to happen. It was just a matter of when.

It seems to me it's a catch 22 situation.
I can see where the skippers vision may have been hard due to the rising sun and surf and he really would have had his mind on other matters (ie not flipping) as well as not hitting anything.
I still cannot for the life of my figure out why people surf where it is known for boats to be coming in and out all the time. Self preservation would tell me it's not a good place to have a surf.

Maybe bars should be declared surfy free zones just like pedestrians, bicycles, horses etc are not allowed on the M1??

It really sucks when the place you can have a good surf is in the place you never want to have a breaking wave. That place been at bar where boats are crossing all the time.

If anyone is to blame is the people responsible for the bar. ie local or state government.

[Giffo65]

A very sad day for the families,especially being Mothers day.I crossed that bar every time I went fishing outside when I lived on the Goldy,it is a busy area for both boats and surfers,I have had to dodge surfers a few times when coming back in.You can't ban surfing there though,I don't know the answer.

[finga]

You can't ban surfing there though
Why not?
You can't ride a board in between the patrolled flags so why not just put two flags up on either side of the bar.
If something drastic does not happen this type of tragedy will occur with increasing frequency.

[Muddy Toes]

Yeh well the Skipper will be charged, there is no doubt about that, and although this inncident has already wrecked the skipper life he's in for a very tough and expensive time that's for sure.



what a great world we live in, they have to find someone to blame , even for accidents!


Unfortunately that is where the terms 'legal system' and 'justice system' differ so much.

[Triple]

Why not?
You can't ride a board in between the patrolled flags so why not just put two flags up on either side of the bar.
If something drastic does not happen this type of tragedy will occur with increasing frequency.

And all the surfers will be saying ban all boats using the bar.. is that drastic enough?

[the gecko]

Ive taken a boat thru it, and Ive surfed it too. I used to live up the road from it. the 2 dont mix, but you cant ban anything unless you can police it every day from 6am.....You will never stop the surfers from taking risks.

Such a shame. theres no easy answer to this. The Seaway is also just a matter of time.

Andrew

[trymyluck]

You can't ban surfing there though


Why not?
You can't ride a board in between the patrolled flags so why not just put two flags up on either side of the bar.
If something drastic does not happen this type of tragedy will occur with increasing frequency.


I agree Scott, if we were skateboarding on the highway they soon throw the book at us...............Feel for the skipper and the surfers family.

[Jackinthebox]

There is no clear cut solution because the bar is part of the surf break and the waves go from Currumbin Rock, across the bar and then onto the area called Laceys. I grew up surfing the alley so can see both sides of it.

Sometimes you have to travel through parts of the bar where there are more surfers due to the changing sandbanks that are too shallow to cross.

Dunno what the solution is. I can think of one thing the authorities might do similar to another bar/surf break in the region but I am not going to say it on here.

Mick.

[hellfish]

Very sad news indeed but like others have said it was only a matter of time befoer an accident like this occured. Will be interesting to learn the details of how it occured. I know nearly every time i have gone out currumbin i have had close calls coming back in. In a big tiller steer tinny on the back a wave and the surfers will paddle strait in front of you. Next thing you are on top of them befor you know it. Its like overtaking a truck on the lefthand side and being surprised when you get merged on! I dont get the mentality of the guys who do that. You are not going to come off good against a boat or a truck as today has shown so why do it?

[aussiefool]

Yes a very sad day today for both the surfer and skipper. I too have had a couple of near misses on the bar there, once while watching a person walking with his board I fell off the back of the wave that I was sitting on and came so close to flipping that it was not funny, and got abused by the surfer for good luck. The other time the surfer looked like he wanted to play chicken with me just to catch a wave after I was committed to crossing the bar on the way back in.

[goat boy]

and so it begins
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/05/09/313421_gold-coast-news.html
I don't reckon anything will change. The boatie might not be charged either, cyclists get hit and killed by motorists and no charges are laid sometimes depending on circumstances. In this case the boatie has credible back up from VMR staff.

[PADDLES]

are the rules for boats the same as for jet skis? ie. not within 200m of swimmers.

it's a tough call, but at the end of the day it'll be ruled as the skipper's responsibility to not run someone over. it'll be deemed that a boat under power is a lot more manouvreable than someone paddling a surfboard. i think i know too what will come of this, and it won't be favourable for boaties i don't reckon.

[Noelm]

I have seen this first hand, a good mate of mine ran over a spearfisherman almost a Klm from shore, no divers flag, nothing, the diver was very seriously injured, but my mate was charged and sued for a lot of money, regardless of the circumstances, it all comes down to a "safe speed" and a "proper lookout" all fully covered in the rule book! how that is interpreted by the courts is almost always not in favour of the boat driver.

[fat-buoy]

Point here is safe speed... the skipper has to maintain a safe speed.. in a bar that speed has to be enough to make it past the oncoming waves safely.. coming in is dictated by the speed of the wave as you sit on the back of it... was the boat going out or coming in? Either way there is a huge responsibility on the surfer to keep a watch out for the boat also... the boats don't just sneak up on the waves, it is usually a calculated and deliberate moment to put a boat through the waves, and even then there is bugger all ability to change course to any great extent... if a surfer then decides to cut in front or whatever and puts himself in danger then so be it..

My son surfs and I boat.. I would hate to think of the consequence if the two should ever meet on the water.. I would doubt it very much though as I think he is smart enough not to drop in on a boat.

[FishHunter]

To me it seems very simple, Vehicles hurt you when they hit you so it behooves you to stay out of the way. If you dont and you get hurt its your problem.

My only sympathy is to the boatie who is going to be pilloried as in modern society its always someone else s fault

[Noelm]

I think that is a tad harsh, it was an accident, accidents happen all the time for various reasons, we must feel sympathy for the people involved, regardless of who did what or why.

[PADDLES]

absolutely right noel, the poor bloke who was skipper will have to live with this for the rest of his life, and yeah, it would appear it was a complete accident.

[PinHead]

To me it seems very simple, Vehicles hurt you when they hit you so it behooves you to stay out of the way. If you dont and you get hurt its your problem.

My only sympathy is to the boatie who is going to be pilloried as in modern society its always someone else s fault

what a disgusting comment..there are 2 kids today who do not have a dad.

My sympathies to all involved in this tragic incident.

I would wait for the authorities report o nthis before making any comment on fault or anything else along those lines.

[business class]

Ive crossed this Bar hundreds of times and sad to say but this has been coming for a long time :( . Im not sure where this guy will stand with laws as we have to remember this is not known as a NAVITABLE bar. Ive had a couple of near misses myself even to one point one fell of just infront of us to where we were lucky to miss her. I feel for the both parties involded as it would be devistating for both involved. There is going to be alot said now about the popular bar im just not sure what they can or will do. The only way to fix it IMO is to dredge out north of the bar rock wall, add another rock wall and turn it into a navitable bar as dredgeing wont work as now seen for the 10th year in a row. the reason for this is because there is apparantly large rocks not too far below the ocean floor where they dredge. Hopefully they can come up with something to fix this issue as no one no matter if your a surfer or a boatie wants this to happen again. what a sad mothers day for these families.

[Jabiru658]

are the rules for boats the same as for jet skis? ie. not within 200m of swimmers.

Yes but this was a surfer and not a swimmer, a surf board is in effect a (hand) paddled boat I suspect.

[DALEPRICE]

whatever way you look at it, its just a terrible thing to happen.

[Scalem]

Interesting comments....

I note that VMR has published that the skipper concerned did not behave irresponsibly, so the jury will not be able to reach a decision on this one, it is a sad day for all concerned. For those that didn't catch my thread a few weeks ago, this is exactly why I visited VMR Currumbin to understand everything about this bar before I crossed it.

My thread sparked some interesting comments, I don't need to say any more than what I have previously in this thread and now, it's a sad day for everyone concerned indeed.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=173246&highlight=currumbin

Scalem

[Hagar]

For those of you that are interested one of the T.V. channels was taping an interview with local fishing guide Brad Smith last night . Brad is a long time Alley surfer and just as importantly a fisherman who grew up using this bar so knows what he is talking about . Be interesting to see what he has to offer . Probably be on the local news but might make the Brissie news as well . Channel nine .
Chris

[PADDLES]

hi jabiru, i'm pretty sure a person on any surfcraft is deemed to be the equivalent of a swimmer for boating safety purposes. who has right of way is just another one of those "grey areas" i expect. it's a tragedy nonetheless for everybody.

[Sandman]

Very sad news indeed when i heard my imediate thoughts went back to times we have crossed the seaway , yes it was going to happen!!!
Just to go back to some comments i was pretty sure that surfing the bar was illegal ?
I have no issues as yet with surfing the bar cause atleast you can see surfers its more the ones paddling across the bar you cant see in particulart the early morning.

Michael

[Lovey80]

Can u imagine what the water police would say if you were anchored in a bar obstructing boat traffic? Say Ie Mooloolaba where it is possible? What's the real difference between a boat obstructing marine traffic and a bunch of surfers?

I have nothing against surfing in fact there should be more of it esp with the younger generations but let's get serious here people have been complaining about surfers creating unessessary dangers in major boating access areas for years.

I hope the skipper get off this completely and a bit off common sense prevails. My thoughts are with all parties concerned.

[business class]

we must remember that Currumbin is not a reconized navitable bar so all the bar rules and regs are thrown out the window?

[Spaniard_King]

For those of you that are interested one of the T.V. channels was taping an interview with local fishing guide Brad Smith last night . Brad is a long time Alley surfer and just as importantly a fisherman who grew up using this bar so knows what he is talking about . Be interesting to see what he has to offer . Probably be on the local news but might make the Brissie news as well . Channel nine .
Chris

Alley board riders club had there monthly meeting last night, Brad is a member of this club. Wouldvé liked to be a fly on the wall in that meeting.

[business class]

Alley board riders club had there monthly meeting last night, Brad is a member of this club. Wouldvé liked to be a fly on the wall in that meeting.

When i worked for Brad at his local tackle shop (when he was involved with it) he was forever trying to get the bar dredged for boaties as it was and still can be a nasty bar to cross at times, was a public speaker for along time about that bar for the boaties so it will be interesting to hear what he says with his interview about the incident.

[Hornet Rider]

Very sad business, tragic loss of life. Hopefully QPOL will conduct a fair & unbiased accident investigation to determine if the boat operator has a case to answer or not. It would be prudent for him to engage a private investigation also, in case the matter does proceed to court.

[goat boy]

Saw on the Gold Coast news tonight Police are still seeking witnesses to this and in fact would now like to talk to anyone that was in a boat up around the bar that morning (830ish)

[Richo1]

Tragic accident in a shared waterway.
As a surfer and a boatie I sit on both sides of the fence.
Perhaps a simple and cost effective solution would be apply sound signals when crossing the Bar in proximity of surfers?
If the boats comming in/out gave a prolonged blast (at least 3 seconds) on their boats horn it would let the surfers know they were comming through. Hand held air horns can be bought pretty cheaply.

Cheers Richo