5 January 2010

One dead after jet-ski and boat crash on Molonglo River.

5 January 2010 | dr phil

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News.com.au reports on this sad story.

Sad news that this has happend, my heart goes out to his family.

But to think on December 20th we had this post by johnboy.

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fgzk12:50 pm 15 Jan 10

Wake_newbie “The study confirms many peoples beliefs that the use of boats on lake systems is beneficial.”

No it does not confirm anything of the sort. Maybe you might like to read it again?
“The trial showed that most of the parameters monitored registered negligible or unnoticeable effects on the lake environment.”

No benefit there.

You might be confusing the following two quotes with a confirmed benefit.
“Water skiing may also bring some benefits to the lake, providing mixing and some oxygenation to the stagnant water body. ”
“It is thought water activities such as skiing are beneficial to a lake as this mixes and oxygenates the water.”

“May also bring” Sounds a bit vague don’t you think?
“It is thought” But not supported with evidence. It may also be just a thought, someone had, at some time and sounded good.

My thought would be that a power boat on such a large body of water would have a negligible effect on oxygen levels and little impact on blooms.

Hells_Bells7411:00 pm 14 Jan 10

Out of no disrespect for this man or his family or people asking for the respect and to not add-on LBG thoughts etc onto this thread, I must say the reason I would like to see this happen mostly.

and.. the last person who asked not to talk about it, then went on in the same spiel full on his beliefs. Call me crazy but..

As a spectator to water skiing a couple of times as a teen and going back recently to observe from the boat and from the shore (more from the shore the wakes were a bit savage with our half ‘fangin’ it driver for me to endure too much of). I really didn’t get to see much action on the shore.. It’s terribly dull (says the enduring wife of our driver also who won’t go in the boat but has to help him with a disability off and on AAT) when they have to always leave and go round the corner so much to get a decent run and you wait and everyone else follows them and you get to see the stragely bits. In the most shallow area mostly, It’s a small window anyhow.

I could just imagine a beautiful sunny day down off any shore along Lake Burley Griffin (near to where an area they decided on, I’m sure you would be able to see from many angles and arrangements still) and kicking back and enjoying some action or riding/walking around getting some excellent views.

Well.. I’m very sorry to hear that it’s too shallow and the walls make a difference. That’s a real shame that is.

Back to my corner now >>>

wake_newbie2:26 pm 12 Jan 10

Firstly, I believe this post was to highlight the tragic accident and the passing of a local identity whom I had the pleasure of meeting in the shop a couple of times when purchasing gear. Real nice bloke and my thoughts go to his Wife and Children, Family and Friends.

That said, I also agree this should have a separate forum. I have read the post for a number of days and have been reluctant to say anything, however the number of posts from closed minds and uniformed people has prompted the following.

Up front, I agree with not using wake boats on LBG, mainly because I believe it is to shallow. I waterski raced for a number of years in my 20’s and after a 15 year break, I started wakeboarding. I travel most weekends to Lake Burrinjuck. I have spent maybe 3 or 4 days at most in Molonglo Reach ski area.

Oh btw, I have used LBG for sailing in the past and I think it is the best way to see the lake.

I have had conversations with the department regarding bookings and policing of the 10 boat rule at Molonglo Reach. I tried to book a couple of weekends and was told it was booked out. My friends had a booking and when we got there, only 2 or 3 boats where there and on 1 occassion, we were the only boat on the water for more than 2 hours.

I was informed the fines for using the river without a booking were high, however, they can only enforce the fines once there is 10 boats on the river.

The arguments for and against the use of LBG need to be put into context. on one hand I understand why you would wish to protect LBG, however, there are parts of LBG better suited to water sports such as skiing.

Before you comment on the potential use of the lake, please read the 2005/2006 study on the impacts of such uses of the East Basin. It can be found at:
http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/downloads/experience/LBG/FinalEnvironmentalSummary.rtf

The study confirms many peoples beliefs that the use of boats on lake systems is beneficial.

The other argument against the use of wake boats on the river really gets me wound up. Wake boats create a wake bigger than a standard ski boat, that’s a given. However, a wakeboat is only doing approximately 28 – 40kph. A ski boat is doing 40+kph. There is no major difference once the wake makes landfall. If anything the wake from a skiboat is going quicker.

When it comes to safety, I would rather be on a river full of wakeboats than skiboats. I believe the use of Ski boats on the East Basin would be viable as you do not generally go deep when you come off a water ski. This would separating the ski and wake boats making it a safer environment and allow the sports to grow in the area.

As for comments regarding the demographic of people who engage in the sport, yes you get some strange people, you get them in Golf, Lawn Bowls and most other sports. I am a Project Manager and most of the people I associate with are professionals and most are in Management roles.

Fluges8:55 am 09 Jan 10

I agree with Red October. You can’t even SWIM in Googong Dam because ACTEW uses it for drinking water, after it’s treated – this is absolutely ridiculous. I imagine Cotter will be the same.

I’m against power boats on LBG, by the way, and I grew up water skiing at Good Hope and Jindabyne, when water levels were a lot higher.

And, as a regular Lake user, water quality is a real issue for me. The NCA has allowed too much development on the foreshores. The proposed immigration bridge will only make matters worse.

get it right2:17 pm 07 Jan 10

Reliable source – get your facts right. The boat was towing a skier and the boat did have an observer at the time of the accident.
And for everyone making a comment about the use of the river from gossip rather then experience – The molonglo river itself is not dangerous for the use of skiing however a small number of people make it dangerous by not observing rules and consideration to other users. 20 years ago the river was used for waterskiing – now its skiing, wakeboarding and jetskiing (and the odd canoe and fishing boat which is totally dangerous) – but these activites are all very different and use the water in different ways. These activites can be carried out in the same area but on a larger safer area and if all user observe the rules and consider others. But think about it – its that same on the road, cycle paths, carparks and everywhere there is public – people are inconsiderate to others and lost living in their own world. Opening LBG would be great but wouldn’t fix the problem.

Its a problem with our sociality and people’s thinking and actions. If everyone did the right thing we wouldn’t need police and accidents would happen. As a community, we can contriubtue to making Molonglo safer by encouraging consideration for others and display consideration for laws. Sure its not perfect that we have to book to use the river and we are restricted with how often it is used but its the law and its for safety. The government can help but enforcing the laws and allowing more water access for different activities.

mrs_chicken1:08 pm 07 Jan 10

James was an amazing guy, this is such a loss to the canberra community. He was loved by everyone who was lucky enough to have known him. Such a precious soul.
Lets hope that something is done to make the river safer, and Canberra doesn’t loose another top fella like James.

dvaey8:59 pm 06 Jan 10

Cotts said :

one of the quotes are interesting:

”We heard that it happened in the narrow part of the river. They came round a blind corner and both swerved the same way.”

As a boat user, this is one of my worries when sharing the waterways with people unfamiliar with the rules. The collision-avoidance rules are an international standard, whereby if 2 boats approach (generally) head-on, they should both veer to the right. The rules also state that boats should travel on the right side of the water and also keep-off distances to allow for time to take evasive action in an emergency. This accident wasnt caused by a single mistake, it occured because a number of safety rules were broken. NSW waterways laws generally hold both skippers accountable in the event of an accident, as if proper rules are followed there should be enough time to take evasive action.

Imagine the chaos if people drove on whatever side of the road they felt like, or decided to jump in a plane and take off with no idea of the rules of the road or the rules of the air. Some people dont respect the danger of boating on the water, but accidents like this show that we need more vigilance and enforcement of the rules and penalties for those who drive boats on public waterways, without the appropriate licences and knowledge of the rules.

cranky5:33 pm 06 Jan 10

A couple of points from a reliable source.

The speedboat was doing a ‘roadtest’ – driver only, no skiers, no second person.

The Jetski was apparently in the wrong, on the wrong side of the river.

This was admitted, but now unable to be confirmed.

sloppery4:08 pm 06 Jan 10

Red_October said :

sloppery said :

deezagood said :

sloppery said :

It’s not so much a bogan sport, as a bogans-with-money sport.

Sloppery – you clearly have no idea about the average water-skiing demographic!

I know quite a few water skiers – and they all fit the bogans-with-money category!

Sounds like you’re hanging around the minority.

Realistically, that’s quite possible. The dozen or so water skiiers I know are definitely of bogan stock, however.

deezagood3:56 pm 06 Jan 10

Obviously your bogan-water-skiing friends are atypical 🙂 Most of the folks I have met through skiing (in fact, pretty much ALL of the them) are professional, university-educated types who snow-ski in winter, water ski in summer, love physical activities and sports, enjoy the outdoors and enjoy family activities that keep their kids (and themselves)active. Hmmm – then again, maybe my waterskiing friends are atypical?

dr phil1:00 pm 06 Jan 10

Postalgeek said :

@jacko, bit of a misunderstanding there. The opening comment wasn’t aimed at you; it was intended as a subtle jab at the OP, who, possibly trollishly with no actual boat in mind, asked in a linked thread who would stop him fanging around in his boat? That’s why it was placed ahead of my disagreement with the definition of ‘life’ in your statement reposted by Kramer.

And I agree with your suggestion that starting a separate post on boats in the lake would be more appropriate.

When I said “WHO WILL STOP ME” I was making a poke at the water police. look at the comment left by KIT on the CT web site.

“We were skiing at Molonglo the day before the accident when more than 10 vessels were on the water. It was not possible that everyone had a booking. I was relieved when the water police turned up but they left within 15 mins. All they did was tell one vessels to move over. No licence checks, no rego checks, no booking checks. I understand that checking bookings is the job of parks and wildlife BUT don’t hold your breath for them to turn up. It is ironic that someone was killed the next day when Molonglo was NOT busting at the waterbanks. Waterskiing is in high demand in the ACT and the Gov has confined and ignored the sport for too long. The AFP and Parks should do their jobs. Whereas the Gov must improve conditions. I agree that trees need to be trimmed but I also think that the Gov should allow skiing on an open end of Burley to better meet public demand. In the end, if the two vessels were on their respective sides of the waterway, it would not have ended in tragedy. I am sure that if the Police were present more often and monitored the area, we would see licenced drivers abiding by the rules. I’m sorry for the families and angry that safeguards have been neglected. Posted by Kit, 5/01/2010 1:55:04 PM

ALSO page 2 of todays Canberra times say that “the water police were alerted to the accident nearly one hour after the first call to emergency services 12:25pm. They arrived on the scene at 13:36”

I wonder how they (the water police) arrived, By car or boat? and if they were on the site before the accident how many boats and jet ski’s could have been taken off, if any, from the water? (no booking or even to the point of not having a PWC or GL)

It has been a sad couple of years in ACT’s water.

Red_October12:44 pm 05 Jan 10

My condolences go to the family and friends of the man whose life was tragically cut short yesterday.

My opinion comes from over 14 years of boating experience (both power boats and PWC’s) at almost every fresh water boating destination within NSW.

Suggesting that Lake Burley Griffin be opened to power boats is silly and doesn’t take into account the big picture that is Canberra’s tourism and local attractions and retailers. The fact is that LBG isn’t suitable for power boats or water-skiers. It’s just too dangerous and the public liability placed on the government would be horrendous. Half the lake is bordered by 1m high concrete walls with cascading rocks down into the water and the noise and pollution of power boats would be a detriment to the lake and the social behaviours it currently entails (sailing, paddle boats, canoeists, fishermen, picnickers, walkers, cyclists etc not to mention Canberra’s tourism image). The news that a man was killed on the Molonglo is extremely sad news but calling for the lake to be opened to power boats is not the solution. The Molonglo is too narrow, even after the extensive work to clear the sagging Willow trees which clogged the waterway. The State government has done a lot to improve the area as a safer, more attractive recreational hotspot but there’s still plenty more work that needs to be done. Further studies into improving the safety of power boating needs to be conducted and then acted upon, whether it be through further widening of the river, patrolling the waterway or a further reduction in the maximum boat limit.

I think the big issue here is that Canberran’s don’t have any alternative boating destination within the ACT. The next closest place to give the boat a bath is Good Hope -Burrinjuck Dam – and that’s a 45min drive to a fro. The Cotter Dam expansion would be an ideal location for water sports of all kinds but since the water quenches Canberra’s thirst, any thought of opening it up to power boats has been frowned upon. It is seen that the pollution from power boats contaminates the water, thus making the water undrinkable. This view is not only incredibly naive and misleading to the general public, it’s also based off zero facts whatsoever. Where does Jindabyne store their drinking water? Lake Jindabyne. Talbingo, Tumut and other small towns located near the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme get their drinking water directly from Talbingo Dam. Both of these water supplies give tens of thousands of people their drinking water but also flood with power boats in the summer. Any contaminants in the water are filtered out in the decontamination process at the water purification plants. To say that pollution caused by power boats makes the water undrinkable is simply incorrect. Hell, recycled water, purified from raw sewerage and storm water, is safer to drink than the water flowing from your household taps.

If you’re after accommodation at any one of these destinations during the summer you’re best to book well in advance. Tourism levels during the warmer months go through the roof and any vacant holiday houses are quickly snapped up. The towns are flooded with dollar-spending folk of all ages who are simply there to have a good time in the sun and water. Jindabyne and Talbingo are leading examples of what can be achieved through a little common sense a few dollars. Incorporating power boats in the Cotter Dam scheme would be a vital boost for Canberra’s economy and a much welcomed boating destination for the locals and interstate travellers.