Girl, 16, Killed in Mooring Accident

[TaoJones]

Ali van Os, the 16-year-old daughter of Australian author Joanne van Os and Lex Silvester, a barrister in Darwin, had reportedly been on a world cruise with her parents when she was struck in the head by a mega-yacht's hawser. The line parted while the vessel was tieing up at a dock in Phuket, Thailand.

The 50-meter motoryacht Jemasa had approached the dock to tie up, and Miss van Os had run down to the end-tie to watch. It is reported that a crewmember on Jemasa accidentally bumped the throttle, causing the vessel to surge forward, putting massive tension on a 10cm thick hawser sufficient to cause the line to snap.

When scans revealed no brain function, the girl's parents had to make the heartbreaking decision to terminate her life-support systems.

Here's a link to the story in Northern Territory News:

Freak yacht crash kills NT girl - Northern Territory News

TaoJones

[s/v 'Faith']

Oh that is horrible. How awful for all involved, especially the parents. My prayers go out for the family.

[James S]

This is heart breaking...

[BlueWaterSail]

So sad, my condolences to the family.

BWS

[oceansoul63]

Very sad.

[Lodesman]

Very tragic. "Synthetic line snapback" isn't something that most recreational boaters have to really worry about - but good to be wary if you're going to help berth any large vessels. I'm sure 10 cm is circumference, not diameter - journalists can be misleading.

[Thegirlis]

Gosh, that's horrible. My prayers go out to the family

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

I'm sure 10 cm is circumference, not diameter . . .

Yes, I'm sure you're correct. Here's a link to a page with more detail and several photos of JeMaSa:

Yachtmati - Hakvoort Yacht JeMaSa

TaoJones

[David M]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

Very tragic. "Synthetic line snapback" isn't something that most recreational boaters have to really worry about - but good to be wary if you're going to help berth any large vessels. I'm sure 10 cm is circumference, not diameter - journalists can be misleading.

With all due respect I have to disagree.

With a small boat, I once pulled a cleat out of the dock. The cleat flew in to the side of the cabin putting a good sized dent in the aluminum. Had it hit someone in the head it could quite easily have killed them.

Nylon can stretch 40% before parting. This is a very dangerous rubber band which must be treated with respect. Stay clear of lines under heavy loads, even small diameter lines used on pleasure boats. They too are quite capable of causing serious bodily injury.

BTW, hawsers on ships which have parted have maimed and killed plenty of people. They go so fast you have no time to react and they can cut right through a body. I saw a training film at the academy where they parted lines intentionally and the lines went right through dummy's, no problem.

[twisty]

So sad...

[sneuman]

Reading that really got me in the pit of the stomach.

A tragedy.

[Cheechako]

A woman was killed going through the locks in seattle a few years back, line tensioned, water level went down, cleat came off hitting her in the head..... it does happen...

[starfish62]

Accidents like that--and the losses that attend--really put the daily troubles in perspective, don't they? Just yesterday I was loosing sleep over a financial matter. It's not really that important.

[sushirama]

Does anyone have telltales on their one inch lines?

When working topside in the Navy our biggest fear was a line parting when mooring. We used to get videos with simulations and actual footage of line parts.

This dock should have been off limits while a ship that size was tying up.

[Dale]

Originally Posted by starfish62

Accidents like that--and the losses that attend--really put the daily troubles in perspective, don't they? Just yesterday I was loosing sleep over a financial matter. It's not really that important.

QFT. Going through the same financial issues.

Very tragic chapter for their around the world journey. Prayers for the family & friends...