Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on October 24, 2003 at 09:15:38 from 195.93.32.7 user ACB.
In Reply to: Broads Tragedies; was Re: Dangers to children posted by Peter. R on October 24, 2003 at 08:36:33:
I don't know anything about that case; it has often been said that overcrowded dinghies are the biggest cause of loss of life amongst yachtsmen.
It is terribly easy to overload a boat and we all see it done all the time.
Probably the Beckfoot rowing boat and occasional "war canoe" was a fairly hefty boat, of the sort that one very seldom sees now, rather than a tiddly little pram dinghy like "Imp", but if it was small enough for Peggy to row by herself it cannot have been much more than 14ft, judging by the difficulty of rowing our 16 footer, and I know from experience that seven children (duly life jacketed!) in our 16 footer is plenty!