Marine Safety in Victoria Report 2007-2008 (PDF, 1.3 MB, 72 pp.)

Table 10 Recreational ‘serious incidents’ by environmental conditions, Marine
Incident Reporting system 2007/8
N %
Weather
clear 119 72
hazy 8 5
cloudy 15 9
rain 5 3
undefined/unknown 18 11
Water conditions
calm 88 53
choppy 44 27
rough 8 5
very rough 6 4
strong current 2 1
undefined/unknown 17 10
Visibility
good 118 72
fair 16 10
poor 6 4
undefined/unknown 25 15
Wind speed
none 18 11
1-8 knots 57 35
9-15 knots 37 22
16-30 knots 10 6
over 30 knots 10 6
undefined/unknown 33 20
5.3.7 Contributory factors to recreational serious incidents
Contributory factors were recorded for 90% of recreational vessel incidents (n=148). Up to 9 contributory
factors were recorded per incident, with 322 separate factors recorded. Table 11 summarises the results
of the detailed analysis of contributory factors. Unlike ‘response only’ incidents where equipment and
material factors were the major contributors, serious incidents most commonly involved human factors
(n=208, 65%), followed by environmental factors (n=61, 19%) then material factors (n=53, 17%).
As shown in Table 11, 208 human factors were implicated in 115 incidents, the most common of which
were errors of judgement, inexperience, failure to keep proper lookout and navigational errors. A
total of 61 separate environmental factors were reported across 49 incidents, most commonly sea or
wind conditions, followed by tidal and bar conditions. Last, 53 separate material factors were reported
across 46 incidents, most commonly machinery failure, followed by inadequate stability then electrical
equipment failure.
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