Boat Trip

[kentish]

i hope i have got the correct page to publish this,being a new member i dont want to upset anyone from the off,& having had such a fantastic time on our holiday it seems a shame to want to warn anyone of our bad experience anyway.
We booked our boat trip with who we thought was a very nice & capable person in Fethiye called Oskan & his boat is called Moonlight.On the day of our trip halfway through the day we experienced some rough sea (no one to blame),& one of the chairs my frind was sitting on (they were'nt bolted down)slid across the deck & she was tipped into the sea.She called for help but no one noticed & it was'nt until i returned from the toilet that she was helped back on board.
Besided oskan, that day he had 2 other lads with him & 6 other people who at the time of the incident were sunbathing on the top deck.
Luckily my friend is'nt a bad swimmer but as it all happened very quickly she was quite shocked once she was in the water & then very upset that no one came to her assistance.i have to add here that we are no spring chickens either!!!
We did have a heated debate with oskan about the safety aspect of the chairs not being fixed to the deck but was met with a very 'don't much care'attitude & shoulder shrugging.
My concern is that,what if that had been a child????The blood runs cold just to even imagine a thing!
Could anyone tell me if this is normal to not have fixed seating on board a boat?
The experience has not put us off & we are hoping to take our main holiday next year in Calis & maybe even squeeze a quick week in at the end of Sept.
i don't want to damage anyone's reputation or livelyhood & hope that oskan & his boat do well but this was a frightening incident which could have been avoided maybe.

only the title edited

[Highlander]

Julie - what a terrible experience for you to have to relate as your first post.

We have been on boat trips where there were "loose" chairs and have never given it a moments thought. Until now that is.

An excellent post which I'm sure will be of great value to others going on boat trips, especially, as you say, those with children (and those having the odd liquid refreshment!).

It is also heartening to hear that it's not going to put you off taking another trip.

PS I'm sure you will be forgiven for using capitals in the title

[Diverbaz 1]

I have been on dive boat trips, where we don't normally have the luxury of chairs, but have had the sunbeds on the top deck. On one trip the sea was rough and the sunbeds, with people on, were sliding from one side to the other, if it were not for the name signs along the hand rails they would have been overboard en-mass.

Baz

[Gorgeous_bird]

I agree with Highlander, I have never given it a seconds thought either. What I would say is take a walk along the front at Fethiye and you will see the boats and before making your decision ask to have a look on board- most are more than happy to let you have a look around. That was how we found our preferred operator, I am a fussy customer when it comes to boats. We went to centre parcs one year and against my better judgement I was bullied into going on a sailing dingy on the lake. We all got in the boat and not 5 minutes into my maiden voyage than we were all in the water- literally. I was in a flap (to say the least) the kids thought it was hilarious, the kids were rescued by the safety boat, I swam to shore and Nick (bless him, said through gritted teeth) managed to get the boat upright again and climb back in. I stood on the shoreline dripping wet along with many other centre parc residents (obviously the highlight of the day if not the week) watching as Nick sailed off into the horizon. I stood open mouthed for a while and then realised that he was heading away from the shore and no intention of coming back. I turned on a sixpence and dragged the kids back to the chalet to get cleaned up. He appeared an hour later having had a wicked time...... needless to say I only go on boats under the power of an engine and at the hands of an experienced "captain" and the beautiful scenery around fethiye usually helps! Glad to here that you have not been put off and it was not the diaster it could have been.

[tribalelder]

It springs to mind ........What if the lady could not swim?

[heather07]

quote:Originally posted by tribalelder

It springs to mind ........What if the lady could not swim?

That thought went through my mind too.
I thought the nets around the edge of the bigger boats would have been a standard safety precaution on any boat taking passengers.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

[stoop]

Thanks for bringing it to our attention. I sometimes get the feeling that if Turkey ever gets ino the EU the Health and Safety Men are going to have a field day!

Even a good swimmer could have got into serious trouble here. What if she had been knocked out or gone under the boat? The thought of 'what if' makes me cringe!

[sannyrut]

The only boat trips we have been on in recent years are the smaller boats.Benches and tables downstairs,and loungers on the top deck.What you have described kentish,is an appalling thing to have happened to anyone.To think the same thing could have happened to a child is frightening.In fact the whole idea of chairs not being securely fastened is a point I will look out for in future.

[farry]

What an awful thing to happen Kentish. Definitely something to bear in mind for the future.  Hope you and your friend are not put off by this terrible incident.

[laffa]

I would like to thank you for this post and will certainly tell my daughter, who goes out next week with her family, I am another one who has never given this a second thought, The sea must always be treated with caution, it can change so quickly, and is a power not to be reckoned with.As for the EU,health and safety are one of the reasons Turkey will never get in.
What upsets me is the reaction from the people in charge of the boat, it so easily could have turned into something much worse.