LESSONS FOR ROWERS
Review of the Dove Pier Incident - October 2006
It was a calm sunny Saturday morning on the Tideway when a novice women's eight, their coach and launch driver were involved in an incident at Hammersmith, described afterward by the TRRC and the PLA as a tragedy fortuitously avoided.
The eight broke apart after being forced onto the pontoon and moored barges at Dove pier by a fast flood tide. The driver of the tin-fish tried to rescue the crew but was swamped in the attempt.
With help from other coaches afloat; the RNLI; Auriol Kensington RC and the pier residents, all 11 were subsequently rescued, warmed and returned to Putney.
The TRRC quickly allocated a team to investigate the incident, mindful that everything possible should be done to prevent a repeat. The team (Neil Jackson, Bill Mitchell and Stuart Ward) were tasked with looking at preventive measures, and establishing whether the then-new Tideway Rowing Code had in any way contributed to the situation.
The report (in PDF format), is attached below for download. The report is large (60Mb) so we have split into smaller sections for ease of download.
The team investigating the incident had to rely on many people. Inevitably, many of those contributing to the substance of the work were at TRC and the PLA. Others have assisted with the preparation and presentation of the report. We are grateful to them all.
