US Boaters Reminded of New Kill Cord Law After Man Thrown From Runaway Boat in Miami

18th April 2021

The dinghy was spinning in circles when emergency responders arrived at the scene off Miami, Florida on Monday 12 April

Marine Industry News reports on an incident in Florida recently where a man was thrown overboard from his motorised dinghy which then went out of control.

According to the Miami Herald, the incident last Monday (12 April) at Fisherman’s Channel off Miami saw the boat “spun furiously in circles, like an angry hornet doing donuts in the water” after its pilot was flung from the vessel and subsequently rescued by another boater.

Emergency responders managed to bring the runaway dinghy under control by tangling the prop of its outboard motor.

#Breaking #Watch @USCG, @MiamiDadeFire, #GoodSamaritan rescued 1 & stopped runaway boat near Fishermans Channel. The operator sustained minor injuries; declined medical assistance. New engine cut-off switch laws started April 1! Read more: https://t.co/HIsn43WWsA #BoatSafe #SAR pic.twitter.com/Lz2RkdkCEL
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) April 13, 2021

The incident comes less than three weeks after new legislation mandating the use of kill cords and engine cut-off switches on recreational vessels came into force in the United States, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Published in Water Safety

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Kill Cord

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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