3rd Child Dies: Your Heart Goes Out To The Families.

[eyethenkyew]

http://news.uk.msn.co...es-in-canoe-tragedy-1

Out of six people in the canoe, three children dead, one of the fathers is missing presumed drowned. They were on Loch Gairloch, an extremely large expanse of water in relation to their canoe, and which flows into the Sea of the Hebrides, part of the North Atlantic.

Should they have been there in the first place? I only ask this because bearing in mind the ages of the three kids who have perished, i.e. 2years, and two of them 5 years, weren't the two adults taking a massive risk in the first place?

How can the two families ever hope to get over this? My heart goes out to them in these dark days.

[humbersloop]

yes, imo, two and five is far, far too young for a stretch of water like that.

And the bbc reports I've heard through today said the adults weren't wearing life jackets.

We see plenty of this kind of thing on the Humber. Water is unforgiving.

[Gromit]

Far more children die as passengers in cars than die as passengers in canoes. A dual carriageway carries as many dangers as a scottish lake. Assuming the adults were experienced canoeists then the trip would have seemed no more dangerous than us taking our children or grand children out in the car.
Life is not without risks and some unfortunately are unlucky.

[humbersloop]

^^no gromit, disagree big time mate. Different circs altogether.

[DTCwordfan]

Police: "It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the loch was flat calm." When do families go out then? Don't be deluded by the pics of a choppy loch that the Beeb is showing.

It is a tragedy though and perhaps more to do with the Canadian canoe design.

[DTCwordfan]

The logic does not quite run through smoothly, gromit. They were on the loch for leisure, we use roads for many, many purposes.......very tenuous I think......

[eyethenkyew]

I don't really accept the comparison between this tragedy and driving your kids somewhere in the car. Yes, of course there are obvious dangers in that, we all accept that, but the number of kids carried in cars probably outweighs those taken out in a canoe on a great loch not far off the North Atlantic by many millions to one, therefore the laws of average dictate that car accidents will claim some lives.

And I have no idea if either adult had any great experience of canoeing, so you're merely guessing there. Even if they did, it's not something which the vast majority of us normally do, especially with young sprogs in tow, and my main point is that, tragic though it was, it was very avoidable under the circumstances as I've explained them.

[eyethenkyew]

It's also worth noting that this tragedy happened in what is being described as a remote area, which adds to the puzzling decision to embark on such an adventure with young tots in the first place.

Not quite the same as having a car accident on a motorway etc?

[humbersloop]

for the op, in my view,

weren't the two adults taking a massive risk in the first place?

yes, to say the least

I hope the eight year old who sparked the rescue makes some kind of emotional recovery too.

[DTCwordfan]

especially if they were not properly equipped......then yes. If they were, then the boat design has to be looked at......and, in reality, it is a probably a cumulative case of unfortunate factors, as a lot of these sorts of accidents often are.

[JonnyBoy12]

Water is a funny thing. It gives life and it takes it away as well. Oh, one more thing, it can not be tried for murder in a court of law either. Stay away from it and will not go far wrong.

[seadogg]

The canadian seems a stable craft compared to a kayak but its method of paddling can lead to capsize. Only ever used them with kids on canals and easy rivers and always with lifejackets. Still a damn shame.

[marval]

That is a tragedy, I think the kids were a little too young, but my thoughts and prayers are with the families.

[DTCwordfan]

so that's where you see the issue, seadogg; the wrong paddling technique.......

[humbersloop]

As I said, water is unforgiving.

And people, who mostly have no understanding of it -because why should they- blithely toddle across the equivalent of a three lane motorway. Kids in tow.

[seadogg]

In a kayak, you sense automatically that you are responsible for the stability of the boat. In a canadian there is a feeling of security and youngsters can easily forget their responsibility and put too much weight into the stroke so that it can go over, especially if the person in the stern becomes distracted from his job of compensating lack of balance. I have felt much safer, offshore in my sea kayak than with youngsters in a canadian canoe.

[eyethenkyew]

A member of the local coastguard there described that specific type of canoe as "unstable and lacking buoyancy".

The two men weren't wearing life jackets, the four kids were wearing what's described as 'buoyancy aids'.

[humbersloop]

to answer your op, yes, it does

[Quizmonster]

I wondered exactly what was meant by 'buoyancy aids'. Might they have been something as simple as blow-up arm-bands? Certainly they do not appear to have been devices that would keep floating children face up. Whatever...taking four young children to sea thus equipped and in such a craft, whilst wearing no life-jacket oneself, seems like utter folly to me.
It is all desperately sad, of course, and I feel for the surviving family members, but...

[emmie]

awful tragic story. Can't understand why such young children were in the boat, nor why they weren't wearing proper life jackets. Rescue officer said the boat wasn't particularly stable, and that the children were found face down. that had they being wearing life jackets the chances of their survival would be have been greatly increased.

[chas2008]

'buoyancy aids' are exactly what they say,which are fine if you have the basics of swimming & survival exactly what many kids dont have, especially a 2year old.. life jackets are designed to keep you on your back with your face out of the water quite important if you are unconscious. I checked this out as i take 2 of my grandsons out with Kayaks (only on a river) wearing buoyancy aids but they are both very strong swimmers. I expect the father thought he was doing the right thing...it was only this story that made me find out the difference..