Near miss 2 December 2008

December 2008

On 2008-12-02 a near miss between a Thames Clipper and a group of five kayaks from THCC was reported to the Harbour Master. Below is an extract from the paddlers' debrief with the THCC committee.

X and Y say that the group stopped at Rotherhithe to cross the river and that it was clear as they started crossing. They say they crossed at right angles. When they were approximately a quarter of the way across the river, a Thames Clipper came around the corner from Canary Wharf travelling towards them at speed.

They initially thought they had time to get across and kept paddling. It became clear they did not have time to cross and X shouted to stop. X estimates that Y was 20 to 30 metres ahead of the rest of the group at this point.

The Clipper did not appear to see them until the last minute and did not slow down even though they shone their headlights at its bridge. The Clipper passed River Left of the group and Y estimates that it was about 30 metres in front of him.

All the paddlers in the group had head torches but they had no all round white lights.