| 31st
December : Deadly
Stinger
Sours Best
Job In The
World. |
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It
may be tagged the "Best Job in the World", but it almost
ended in tragedy for a British man who was stung by a deadly jellyfish
as he jetskied around the Australian island he is caretaking and
promoting.
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Only
days before his idyllic job comes to an end, Ben Southall said he was
stung by a irukandji, a tiny but deadly jellyfish, during a "post
Christmas jetski session".
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"I've
avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a
spider or a snake, but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I
fell foul of a minuscule little creature known as an irukandji,"
Southall wrote on his blog (http://www.islandreefjob.com/).
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Southall
said at first he only felt a "small bee-like sting on my
forearm", but shortly after felt hot and sweaty and started
suffering headaches, a tight chest and high blood pressure.
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Irukandji
stings can cause cardiac arrest and death.
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Island
doctors treated Southall and he quickly recovered after a good night's
sleep.
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Southall,
34, from Hertfordshire, the UK, beat more than 36,000 applicants to
become caretaker of tropical islands around the Great Barrier Reef in
Australia.
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He
was paid £74,000 (BD44,700) promoting tourism in Queensland by
visiting attractions and blogging about his experiences.
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But
his adventure ends on New Year's Eve today.
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He
said: "I think I've been one of the busiest people on the planet
even though a lot of people think I've been sitting in a hammock doing
very little."
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Gulf-Daily-News.com
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| 30th
December : Autopsy Shows IJSBA Racer
Died Of Head Trauma. |
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Mohave County Sheriff’s
Office officials reported the autopsy results for Cesare Vismara, 37,
an Italian national who had raced with Team Serbia during the
International Jet Sports Boat Association Personal Watercraft World
Finals at Crazy Horse Campground beach and was killed Oct. 16 during a
three-boat collision on Lake Havasu.
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Vismara’s autopsy results
determined his cause of death was multiple blunt-force injuries to his
head, neck, back and chest, said MCSO spokeswoman Trish Carter on
Tuesday.
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The crash occurred during the
Amateur Runabout Limited Class just after 2 p.m.
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The boats collided coming out
of the final turn and into the front stretch near the official’s
tower and in front of the viewing stands on the beach, according to
earlier reports.
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K38 Rescue team members
pulled the victims from the water and onsite paramedics performed CPR
on Vismara until he was transported via River Medical Ambulance to
Havasu Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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One of the other racers
involved in the collision suffered minor injuries, the third was
uninjured.
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IJSBA event officials
cancelled the races following the crash that day.
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Today’s News-Herald news
reporter David Bell contributed to this report.
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HavasuNews.com
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| 19th
December : Heroic Cop Saves Man From Drowning. |
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By
Scott McPherson
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An off duty policeman from
Swindon who risked his own life to save a drowning man has won one of
the country’s top national life-saving awards.
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PC Mark Field, 25, who is a
member of Wiltshire’s armed response team, took part in a
life-and-death battle in the seas off Cyprus after two jet skiers got
into trouble in June.
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He is now in line to pick up
a Royal Humane Society Certificate of Commendation along with two
other rescuers.
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One of the men they fought to
save drowned but the other was rescued after PC Field, who was in the
country to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday, swam out to sea and
pulled him to safety before performing CPR for 45 minutes before the
man started breathing again.
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The modest policeman said:
“It is an absolute honour to be given this award but I really
don’t feel I deserve it.
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“I was on the beach with my
family celebrating my nan’s birthday when we saw a chap coming out
of the sea in a right state and saying there were others in the sea.
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“I ran into the sea and
swam out and it took me a while to find the guy.
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“I pulled him up and then
others swam out to help us bring him to safety.
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“The sea was quite choppy
which made it all the more difficult.
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“I am thrilled with the
award and haven’t actually told many people about this yet.”
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Yesterday, in addition to the
awards they are to receive, PC Field and the other rescuers received
the personal praise of Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane
Society.
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Mr Wilkinson said: “Sadly
one of the victims of this incident died.
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“But the other man, who was
himself attempting to rescue the man who died, was thankfully saved.
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“But for the efforts of PC
Field and the other two, though he too could so easily have drowned.
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“All three richly deserve
the awards they are to receive.”
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The incident happened in the
sea off Limassol on the afternoon of June 5 this year.
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PC Field was joined by a
Cypriot police officer and a member of the public in the rescue.
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Describing what happened Mr
Wilkinson said: “Cyprus police were called to Kerynia Beach.
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“Here they met Mr Malcolm
Wray, a Limassol man, who said that there was a man, Christopher
Dixon, in the water who had fallen off a jet ski.
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“The ski had subsequently
been blown ashore leaving him stranded.
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“Another jet skier, John
Whalley, had used his jet ski to reach Mr Dixon, had jumped off and
tried to tow him to the jet ski.
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Unfortunately this machine
was also blown to the beach.
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Mr Whalley then attempted to
get Mr Dixon to a marker buoy but had to abandon the attempt out of
exhaustion.
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“He then clung to the buoy
himself until Mr Wray took a jet ski to him and got him back to the
shore.
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In the meantime PC Field and
the local police officer also using a jet ski managed to trace the man
who died and get him back to the shore.
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He was taken to hospital in a
helicopter but pronounced dead on arrival.”
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No date has yet been fixed
for presentation of the awards but they are expected to take place in
the early part of next year.
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SwindonAdvertiser.co.uk
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| 17th
December : Stevenage Holidaymaker Drowned While Jet Skiing. |
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A 45-year-old man, who had
been riding a jet ski, drowned while on holiday in Cyprus, an inquest
heard yesterday (Wednesday).
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Christopher Dixon, of
Morecombe Close in Stevenage, and two friends had been using a jet ski
in rotation on June 5 this year when tragedy struck.
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Mr Dixon was last seen
travelling out to sea on the jet ski just after midday.
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Edward Thomas, the
Hertfordshire coroner, said:
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"The other two were
sitting on the beach. After a while they heard the engine had stopped
and saw that no one was on the jet ski."
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They began to worry when Mr
Dixon did not appear and they watched the jet ski drift due to strong
winds.
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The pair requested police
assistance and went into the sea to search for their friend.
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Mr Dixon was found floating
face down about 200 metres from the shore.
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The police arrived, pulled Mr
Dixon to the shore and began CPR, which continued at hospital.
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After attempts to resuscitate
him failed, Mr Dixon was pronounced dead.
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Mr Thomas said: "There
was a force four or five wind, which would have given a significant
wave height of half a metre to one metre." Visibility was good.
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Mr Dixon had not been
drinking, and a report from his GP said he was "fit" and
"rarely presented at surgery".
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Mr Thomas said: "There
was some concern he hadn't worn a buoyancy aid, and about the weather
conditions."
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The jet ski, which had
drifted ashore, was examined and found to be in good working order.
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A post mortem carried out by
a pathologist in Cyprus found Mr Dixon had died from asphyxia due to
drowning.
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Mr Thomas recorded a verdict
of accidental death.
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TheComet.net
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| 15th
December : Lache Man Admits Stealing Jet Ski Worth £6,500. |
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by Dave Goodban
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A man has admitted to
stealing a jet ski valued at £6,500 from Deeside.
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Defendant Anthony John Price
also pleaded guilty to a separate burglary and assault charge at Mold
Crown Court on Friday.
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Price admitted stealing the
jet ski at Broughton on August 16 this year.
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He also admitted a burglary
at a garage in Kinnerton Close, Saltney, and an assault charge, on
August 17.
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The defendant, 31, of
Stamford Road, Lache, Chester, was bailed by Judge John Rogers QC
until the New Year, when he will be sentenced.
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ChesterChronicle.co.uk
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| 14th
December : Ski Pimp Sponsors Luke Stocks. |
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Luke “Showtime” Stocks
has announced that Ski-pimp custom jet ski graphics will be his image
sponsor for the 2010 season.
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"I’m thrilled to have
Ski-Pimp on board this year,” said Luke.
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“Working with a creative
company with great designs and ideas, is great "
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“Our support for Luke is on
the back of his success in 2009, we were looking for a “showman”
to show off our creative flair
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Commented Steve Robinson aka
Ski-Pimp.
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“Many of Ski pimp customers
are huge freestyle and racing fans and our sponsorship is a way of
supporting the sport they love.
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We look forward to another
successful year with Luke with his freestyle competitions"
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About Ski-Pimp
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Ski-Pimp is a rapidly
expanding design and graphics company.
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Ski Pimp offers custom
graphic kits and apparel at everyday low prices.
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The company offers a complete
line of graphic applications to suit most popular skis.
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Ski-Pimp
have introduced textured and 3D imagery incorporated into their
designs.
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Steve’s experience working
for a renowned F1 racing team gives Ski-Pimp the technical confidence
to apply its designs to any ski.
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www.ski-pimp.co.uk
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| 13th
December : Inquest Hears Of Jet-Ski Tragedy. |
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By Jane O'Neill
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A jet-skier drowned after an
accident on the River Wear, an inquest heard.
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Michael Scott, from
Springwell, Sunderland, died in hospital after he was pulled from the
water at South Hylton.
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An inquest heard the popular
22-year-old had got into difficulties near Claxheugh Rocks.
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Sergeant John Hall, from
Northumbria Police, was among emergency services called to the scene
on September 20.
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Michael was already in an
ambulance on his way to Sunderland Royal Hospital, but was pronounced
dead shortly afterwards.
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Sgt Hall said: "It
quickly appeared that it had not been an organised event. He had been
there in the company of some friends riding jet skis and had been for
some time that afternoon.
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"They were just about to
leave the area when he decided to have one last ride."
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For some reason the jet ski
stopped and Michael fell into the water
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The police Marine Unit
examined the jet ski and said it was in working order and had no
defects, although it was old.
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However, Sgt Hall added that
Michael was not wearing a life vest and the jet-ski did not have a
"kill cord", which attaches from the key to the rider and
cuts out the engine if it stops suddenly.
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Pathologist Dr Stuart
Hamilton said a very small amount of alcohol was found in Michael's
body, but this could have been produced naturally after his death.
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He also had cuts and grazes
on his forehead, nose and knee, but it not known how these were
caused.
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Coroner Derek Winter said:
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"It is clear to me
that this was the unintended consequence of an act which was entirely
accidental and is appropriate for me to record a verdict of accidental
death.
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"It also seems to me
that the tragedy was compounded by the fact that Michael appeared to
have bumped his head and this may have impact his ability to swim to
shore."
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Speaking after the inquest,
his distraught family, including mum Carole, 49, and brother Mark, 26,
as well as girlfriend Michelle Eltringham, 20, said they planned to
mark what would have been Michael's 23rd birthday next week with a
family meal before some of his friends and his brother would go back
to the scene of the tragedy.
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Carole, whose husband Joe
could not attend the hearing, pleaded with anyone going into the water
to stay safe, as Michael took off his life vest before his fatal last
ride.
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She also paid tribute to
those who battled to save her son, saying:
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"I would also like
to thank everyone involved in the rescue from the bottom of my
heart."
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Verdict: accidental death
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SunderlandEcho.com
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| 8th
December : Latest WaveRunner line-up
debuts at Tullett Prebon LIBS 2010! |
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Yamaha has
announced that it will debut a collection of its stunning 2010
WaveRunner models on its stand at the Tullett Prebon London
International Boat Show 2010 at the ExCel London exhibition centre,
running from 8th – 17th January 2010.
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Pride of place at the
entrance of the South Hall on stand S025A,
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the line up includes the
brand new 2010 VX Sport which boasts numerous updates including
mirrors, paint scheme and a redesigned hood.
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Offering exceptional fuel
economy along with fantastic performance, this all rounder is perfect
for anyone wanting to take their first step into personal watercraft
ownership.
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In addition, other Yamaha
WaveRunner models that will be on show include the much sought after
FX HO with its fuel efficient high output 1.8 litre engine and SHO
looks, the luxurious FX Cruiser SHO, incredible FZR and FZS models and
last but not least, the legendary Superjet.
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There is only one
manufacturer for your new Personal Watercraft and that’s
Yamaha.
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With a WaveRunner model to
suit everyone, make sure you visit the Yamaha stand at the Tullett
Prebon London International Boat Show to decide which model is right
for you.
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For more information about
our fantastic line-up of WaveRunners, log onto www.yamaha-motor.co.uk
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or get down to the London Boat Show
(www.londonboatshow.com) in January and see them for yourself.
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