groilick Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 What in the name of sanity possessed instructors to have children in open tidal waters with a sea temperature of only 10C and winds of over 30mph. Air temperature was also around 10 C with a wind chill of minus 12C . This kid is lucky to be alive.http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_05_2009/Schoolgirl%20rescued%20from%20activity%20trip.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAStewart Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 One time I sailed in gale force 7. It was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Air temperature was also around 10 C with a wind chill of minus 12C . This kid is lucky to be alive. Are you sure about the minus 12??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groilick Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 ^^^^^^^^^oops - should have been minus 1.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 What in the name of sanity possessed instructors to have children in open tidal waters with a sea temperature of only 10C and winds of over 30mph. In the name of sanity this sounds like a well run character building exercise that I am sure the kids were enjoying. Something happened to one girl and until the incident is investigated we do not know if there was some sort of equipment failure or if the girl was already ill and either did not know that she was ill or perhaps did not tell anyone so as not to miss out on the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talpa Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 I've seen some of these outdoor activities and projects with young people taking place. What these instructors do is incredible (in a good way!) and safety is a large part of what the participants are taught. I've also heard participants and parents waxing lyrical about the benefits - physical/ mental/ social etc. I'm really impressed by the programme they run in Shetland. As noted we do not know the exact details, but from what I've seen I would imagine that when this incident happened that it was handled with the utmost professionalism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 I agree with JustMe and Talpa. Having been on these outdoor activities a few times I've always been really impressed with the people who run them. We'll just have to wait and see for the details of this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para Handy Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Seems to me they did the right thing, when the girl was found to be in trouble, they got help to her in the fastest way they could. She is ok. After all there is just a big a risk walking across the road. Even with the best training in the world sometimes something can go wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Shetland schools had been running coasteering activities for the past five years, where pupils traverse the rugged coastline jumping into the sea and exploring sea caves.Until reading that, I had no idea this had been going on. I was a bit surprised, but not negatively so. It is extremely encouraging to see that sense is able to prevail in the school despite the increasing moves towards less and less appropriate (or effective) public safety policies. By that I mean things like having the hand rail around the top of Mousa broch. Full marks to the school in not always taking the easy option of avoiding being bold. This kid is lucky to be alive.In an age of "reality" TV, "talent" shows, and gaming, I would suggest such kids are lucky to have been provided the opportunity to learn what being really alive is all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shetlandlady Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Its such a disappointment to hear comments like Groilicks on a subject like this. Having been on one these trips as a youth worker with a bunch of kids this age I can only say how much they all (and I) enjoyed it. The instructor was brilliant, we were all suited up and checked before we went out and we had great fun. Yes we were all cold but it was a hell of a lot more entertaining than yet another night in with the tv or playstation and all the kids agreed! I'm really concerned at hearing this story that there will be more responses like the first one and trips like this will suffer for it. It would be a true shame if the council and other companies stopped funding these trips simply to avoid being sued by foolish parents who cant just be grateful that their children were quickly and efficiently looked after if something went wrong. It seems to me that the poor girl was looked after properly and is now recovering well and that should be the end of it. A life without risk would be no fun at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ of Hildisvik Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 My daughter has been on a few of these, totally great fun and totally safe.This girl is safe and sound, that says it all. It is far more dangerous to keep your Bairns inside in front of a computer screen or play station for 12 hours a day eating junk food and swilling down fizzy drink, the sure fire road to Diabetes and heart disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassermaet Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 When my class - and indeed most of the years before and after us - were due to make the transition from P7 to S1, we had an activities day at Voxter House. We got to meet the other bairns from the other primary schools who we'd be in classes with for the next 4-6 years. While there were tamer activities, such as cooking, model making etc, we also got to do things like sailing and canoeing, which were great fun. The instructors made sure we were safe and kept a good eye on us - thankfully nobody was hurt in any way, and I'd put that down to their vigilance. I think we were all better off for having gotten to do those activities than for not having had the chance to meet and greet others before we started high school together. This was an unfortunate incident, but the outcome could have been so much worse, and it would be a shame if this were to put parents off allowing their bairns to do fun stuff like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarotangel Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Speaking from the point of view of someone that knows FAR too much about fainting. If the lass coulda keep conscious then I'm fairly sure she would have had a virus/bug already in her system. That's what happens to me when I get ill in the words of Elvis Costello "can't stand up for falling down". It's sounded all too familiar to me. I know it's been about 15 years since I was at the Anderson but on Activities week safety was always a priority and at no time did we feel unsafe doing anything. They did the right thing for the situation that they were in and glad she got the proper treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ew Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Hi,I would like to say that my son did the coasteering exercise, a couple of days before the young lass in question did, He was cold, wet and exhausted, but had, had one of the "best days ever", and I am sure that he will not forget it, I wish that I had had the chance to do this when I was his age, why do we jump on this negativity boat so quick, and why are we so quick to blame instructers etc, why before voicing opinions don't we find out all the information, remember that the instructers are dealing with teenage children, that in their very nature can be unpredictable at the very least, By the way my son has Aspergers syndrome, ADHD and Epilepsy, and I didn't once worry about his wellfare during his outing, I had complete faith in the instructers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquarius1 Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 hi , my son has recently been coasteering twice . He had the two most amazing days of his life . i have utter confidence in the instructors and persons running these events . when all is said and done the lass is ok . lets not dwell on 1 incident when loads of kids have done this and been ok . i just hope this does not ruin it for all the other kids . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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