PENELTYBOX,i think all 4 of your recomendations are very good ideas,some of them are standard protical at most motorsport events.i hope sbi is listening to you now.

Awesome thread in hopes of making changes for the better. Thank you.

Well written post. There is real value in the information when it comes from someone who was actually there and participating.

I'm a fan of most forms of motorsports. While I've never competed myself, I have attended many events in many different types of racing; boats, cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, airplanes, lawnmowers.

As I sit here, I cannot recall any event that did not have at least one ambulance on-site, ready to react to any potential need. This just seems like SOP.

To hear that the "Worlds" as they are known, do not have multiple ambulances stationed and on-call during the race makes me sick. Even the F*^king lawnmower guys do it! In my opinion, there should be at least 4, two at each end of the course, parked, running and ready. No discussion, no alternative.

As for the officials trying to cover their azzes, they should be ashamed of themselves on many levels. They're likely not, but they should be.......................

+1

Penaltybox, thank you very much for sharing. I too would be interested to hear more about the helmets....

Wonderful thread.

I'm certain that your posting was fraught with great consternation and done so with a heavy-heart, but I commend you immensely for posting as such anyway. Thank you for posting and thank you for your volunteer efforts.

I too know exactly what it's like to arrive on the scene of a fresh boating accident when a life/lives are on the line and I understand the nature of those never-ending minutes of shear despare, confusion and panic, so I can sympathize with what you have gone through. Thanks again for putting it into words.

You also bring up a multitude of excellent points regarding the safety and preparedness (or the painfully obvious lack thereof) at these events.

Let's face it, the fact that every individual on every boat wasn't clearly instructed on precisely what to do, where to go, and how to react in a situation like this - not to mention that an ambulance wasn't already at a designated staging area - is appalling to say the least. And to add insult to injury, noting that the CG was not clearly at the ready and able to assist at a moment's notice, is of great concern.

I truly hope that this thread and the following conversations help to raise awareness to an apparently inadequate safety regimen and will ultimately lead to the installation of better safety measures and preparedness, regardless of cost or profit margin.

Now, having said all that, this is in no way, shape or form meant to denigrate the commendable knowledge and professionalism of the safety personnel already there doing their damnedest to make the best of circumstances like this, rather we should be focusing on removing any and all obstacles that prevent them from doing all that they can do when they're already putting in 110%.

It's disturbing that the conjunction of all the parties involved including SBI, the USCG, local officials and ambulances weren't better prepared to handle an accident of this nature. But even more disturbing than that is now learning that even after the tragedies on Wednesday and the ensuing confusion, the races continued two days later which led to another horrific accident, and the only concern on the part of the organizers was keeping things hush-hush. I'm shocked to hear that. Please tell us about the helmets. What's the meaning of that?

Thanks for sharing your feelings and information with us and I really hope that what you have said will not be for nothing. We need to do everything that we can to protect the safety of the racers and comfort their families in times like these, as well as those on the Rescue Teams.

After reflecting on this... We know they had decided not to have an ambulance on hand for Wednesday, but after the tragedy that took place, did they have an ambulance on hand for Friday, etc?

Was anything changed or improved after Wednesdays events?

That was also my first thought when I read that there was no ambulance on site.....absolutely ridiculous IMO.

very surprising that there were no ambulances there.

When we had an accident in Coco Beach in an OPT race also run by John Carbonell, there were 2 ambulances stationed at the helicopter landing pad, right on the harbor. We had the "good fortune" to blow up right next to them, and got instant help.

Perhaps the ambulances were deployed at the landing pad in KW as well.

iamjoe, agree 100%. In these situations every second counts. Thank you for getting this started, it sound like there need to be some safety changes.