Horrific incident -- Boats Yachts Marinas

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Date Posted: 22:02:54 09/11/02 Wed
Author: Doug G
Subject:

Horrific incident

I was in Nevis on Monday afternoon waiting on the ferry back to St.Kitts.

A 22' Boston whaler with two 150hp outboard (TWO STROKE) engines pulls up at the pier at a strange angle ie not planing.I mosey down as I know the owner. As I know the parents I go to help (I'd have done so anyway).

To cut a long storey short. The owner's son and his friends are out waterskiing. Six of the group (10 were aboard) go waterskiing. The others are on the beach.

A girl was in the water. The guy driving did not "realise that she was so close" anyway she got cut by the prop.

They hauled her aboard. Headed the half mile/ mile to the Charlestown pier (where I met them) to get her to hospital.
One of the group runs up to me asking for an ambulance as his girlfriend has got cut.
Try and call ambulance through a Port Authority shed (Nevis is a small place). Nevis ambulance not working - it had had an accident and was unavailable (I'm not joking).

A chap with a pick-up truck kindly offers to take her to hospital.

The girl is lying on the transom which was just about level with the pier.

Her thighs are covered with towels [as a compress(?)] and there is a bit of blood on the transom. Not that much though.

I bent down to assess how to get her off when one of the lads aboard holds her and lifts her up and hands her to me.
The transfer is nearly complete - if I do not take her she will fall into the water between the boat and pier.

NB I have just attended a talk on making sure there is a barrier between you and the victim to avoid blood transfer (AND AIDS ALONG WITH IT). Well the towels looked clean (blood free) !!!!! I ended up with a 1/4" diameter blood spot on my short sleeved shirt and none on my arms/hands.

I get her in my arms and start to stand up. Deep groans of severe pain from her.
They still have the ski rope is round her leg (just above her knee).
Lower her and get the rope off.
Gently put her in pick-up. She is driven off to hospital cradled by to guys and a girl (all friends from the boat).

The remaining guy and girl on the boat say they have to go and get the others from the beach.
I suggest that they wash down the boat first. IE get the blood off. We have to borrow a bucket!!!!!!
The guy (driver) expresses his great thirst and I buy four bottles of water (none on board). He is somewhat in a state of shock (as the all are), but is coherent etc.
The boat transom is washed down and a few tiny (1/8" cube) pieces of flesh(?) are washed off.

Driver says he says he can't go as something is wrong with one of the engines (this accounts for the non-planing arrival of the boat in the first place).
I get him to trim up the engines.
I get the keys removed. One incident is enough.
I then proceed to remove one end of the waterskiing line yoke which has been warpped around the prop. There is a metal hook rather than a clip at the end.

On completion he goes off in the boat and collects the others and comes back.
The have no money with them. I lend them some for the taxi.

Final outcome to date:
Girl has severe cut in back of right thigh.
So severe, that the prop had cut into the femur.
- Girl needs a pin in the femur but none that size is available in Nevis (population 12,000).
- Girl is stitched up (I have no idea how many stitches are required for a cut from a 150hp outboard engine).
- Given painkillers.
- Flown out by air ambulance to Miama for final surgery.

Main observation:

Despite the horrible incident the girl was lucky because if the prop had cut her femoral artery she would have been dead, as the others appear to have had little first-aid knowledge.

Cheers

Doug G

PS I have been boating, including waterskiing, for over 25 years and am extremely thankful that I have never had an incident like that happen on a boat that I was on or happen to me.
There but for the grace of God go I.

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