The terrible tragedy of an out-of-control speedboat that took the life a two-year-old boy as he peacefully slept in a deck chair on Cabbage Beach under the watchful eye of his mother, will at last focus the government on the need for stiffer penalties to control water sports in this country.
But even more urgent than more legislation is law enforcement. The Bahamas already has laws to regulate this industry, but they are not enforced. Much tragedy – in both injuries and death – could have been avoided if they had been.
“Any day of the week,” said one observer, “you can stand on Paradise Island Beach and see banana boats going up and down with only the driver at the wheel.” Whenever a boat has anything in tow, two people are meant to be in the boat – the driver and the “lookout”. But no one bothers to enforce the regulations.
It was one of these boats – a 200-horsepower speedboat, pulling an inflatable banana – that went out of control, tossing its driver into the water and careening onto the beach, where its propeller gashed the child’s head.
The case made headlines in England, particularly the charge that the Gallagher family has faced a “wall of silence” when trying to get some explanation about the accident from the Bahamas government.
In April 2002, the Bahamas again received negative publicity on a US web site after an Italian tourist was struck by a jet-ski while swimming off Cable Beach. On that occasion the Bahamas’ attitude towards visitor safety, and its inattention to rules was severely criticised.
Water sports operators are supposed to be licensed, they are supposed to be graduates of Bahama Host so that they will be courteous to visitors. But what branch of the government is responsible for making certain that these supposed rules are enforced? It used to be the Port Authority.
This and many other questions will be asked if British detectives, awaiting the results of an inquest being conducted in England, decide to come down here to do their own investigation. According to reports from England, a letter to British Coroner Roy Palmer, from the Attorney General’s office in Nassau has confirmed that the driver of the boat that took baby Paul’s life was not licensed, nor was the boat insured at the time of the accident.
Jeremy MacVean, president of the Bahamas Hotel Association, who has called for tough licensing regulations, said hotels costantly face litigation because of negligence of persons in the water sports industry and because the properties are the ones with the “deep pockets”.
The hotels have never wanted these persons on their beaches. But government insists that the industry of the little man be protected.
What is most interesting is: In such a case who is liable?
The hotel’s property ends above the mean high water mark, Crown land is below the water mark.
It would appear from the evidence that the out-of-control banana boat on August 5th, 2002 propelled itself from government’s property, trepassed onto the hotel’s property and injured a guest on that property.
Government could very well find itself defending the case.
Source: Editorial, TheTribune
