It is unknown how many rowing accidents occur each year in the United States.*
It seems that minor accidents in which no serious injuries and little or no damage occurs are common and serious accidents that result in significant injuries or damage are few; but fatal accidents appear more common than previously thought. These accidents occur at all levels of the sport from middle schools and high schools to universities and national teams. Sometimes these are due to poor judgment; sometimes due to the failure of rowers and coaches to adhere to recommended safety guidelines, and sometimes due to circumstances beyond the control of the rowers and coaches.
Following is a list of some serious rowing accidents that have occurred since 1976 — primarily in North America — for which some information is available.** Also included is the 1968 Marine Corps boating accident in which nine Marines died that is important because of the attention it drew to the dangers of cold water boating for canoeists, kayakers, and rowers alike.
2018: A girls’ eight from Bishop O’Connell High School apparently capsized in the Potomac River and the coach’s launch also capsized while trying to rescue them. It was reported that four students were transported to hospital. Water temperatures were 42f; air temp 44f; winds 9 – 16 mph.
2017: Mohammed Ramzan never resurfaced after being caught by an ejector crab and thrown overboard from his eight oared shell as a freshman with Northwestern University’s rowing club on the North Channel of the Chicago River. Water temperatures in April were in the forties.
2016: Fifteen-year old Rosie Mitchell collapsed while rowing on the Thames with the Kingston Rowing Club on September 17th, apparently of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia.
2016: Five high school students were hospitalized after a sudden change in the weather swamped several boats on the 43f Hudson River
2016: Six students were hospitalized and two refused treatment after the coach’s launch capsized trying to rescue a four in the Hudson River; all on board apparently abandoned their boats, two swimming to one shore and six to the other. [note: this detail has been reported, but not verified.]
2015: Two high school boats lost in dark in Mamaroneck, NY; rowers rescued by authorities
2015: Four high school girls were hospitalized in Connecticut after their eight was struck by a jet-ski
2015: Michael Hill, a rowing coach in West London, apparently fell overboard and drowned while coaching young rowers from the Thames Rowing Club
2015: Oxford Women’s Boat Race crews swamped while training on River Thames. A Royal National Lifeboat Institution spokesman said “While we have rescued quite a number of rowers over the years, this is the first time I’ve been involved in helping such a prestigious team.”
2014: Oregon State University eight destroyed hitting concrete abutment on Willamette River; all rescued
2014: In New Zealand it was reported a rowing coach lost control of his skiff in Otago, seriously injuring himself and two of the high schools rowers on an eight he was coaching
2013: Following the death of a thirteen year old sculler in Germany the Keil Ministry of Education revised its safety rules: below 10c (50f) a life jacket must always be worn
2013: Collegiate eight swamped on Cayuga Lake
2013: Quad capsized after being hit by fishing boat on Lake Lanier; all rowers treated for hypothermia
2011: Master sculler capsized by broken oar near Boston University; treated for hypothermia; 50 degree water in April
2010: Four high school rowers rescued from Passaic River in New Jersey by police on nearby highway traffic duty
2010? Multiple boats lost in San Francisco fog after dark; required hours for rescue
2009: Two novice shells capsized by wind; twelve students rescued by off-duty policeman
2008: USR reported that a rower collapsed from a possible heart attack.
2007: Eight swamped by large waves; coaching launch capsized by waves; PFDs handed to crew who swam for shore; one person rescued from lake; 10 treated for hypothermia
2006: Two rowers died in cold water, one within sight of rescue, the other in post rescue
2006: Eight swamped by whitecaps 800 meters from dock; police search and rescue required after dark
2005: Fifteen year old Farooq Sikander drowned about one-meter from the shore of the Themes after having been allowed to row a single for the first time on January 2nd wearing jeans and no life-jacket by a “qualified coach with 20 years coaching experience.”
2005: A Boston College rower died from heat stroke after crossing the finish line at the Dad Vail Regatta
2005: USRowing reported that a rower died in NYC
2004: Eighteen Canadian Olympic rowers were reported hospitalized for hypothermia, some severe, after swamping in a gale on Lake Shawnigan
2004: Coach John Steve Catilo drowned within minutes of falling off his launch in Washington DC, within sight of other boats
2004: An eight was swamped by the wake of a tugboat; rescued by the Coast Guard after dark
2004: Eighteen women were rescued by fire and police after two eights swamped three hundred yards apart on the Potomac
2004: Canadian masters champion Gary White drowned in Manitoba while sculling in frigid water soon after ice melt
2003: A sudden change in weather sank two boats in Virginia and disabled the launch engine, forcing rowers to swim for shore
2003: A capsized rower on the Charles was rescued after his shoes failed to release
2003: An experienced masters rower was hit and killed by a 15′ runabout in Barrie, Ontario on July 11th. No charges were filed.
2002: Three rowers were injured, one very seriously, at the Head of the Charles
2002: A Syracuse University eight swamped on the Charles River after racing was cancelled due to worsening weather
2002: Two eights capsized in high winds at the Junior World Championships in Greece
2002: A Brown University eight was swamped by the wash of fishing boat in Connecticut
2000: A thirteen year old suffered life-threatening injuries when a Sheriff’s Patrol boat crashed into an eight on a clear, bright morning in Saratoga, New York
2000: Leo Blockley died 50m from the boathouse in strong current and waves while training with Oxford in Spain
1992: World Champion and three time Olympic medalist Silken Laumann suffered a horrific accident that shattered her leg while warming up for a regatta before the 1992 Olympics
1990: Four rowers drowned within fifteen minutes in cold water in the Netherlands
1988: A sculler drowned on the Potomac River after his scull capsized
1988: Two rowers died — one by drowning and the other from hypothermia — after an eight swamped on a small lake in Victoria, Canada
1983: A University of New Hampshire rower drowned in a sudden squall during a regatta on the Oyster River
1975: Six boats from Harvard and MIT swamped on the Charles River in Boston
1975: A Columbia University Rower died after a university eight capsized on the Harlem River in New York City
1968, March 6th, Potomac River
The entire Marine Corps class of cold water specialists perished within minutes when their training boat capsized on a bright spring day outside of Washington D.C. This wasn’t a rowing accident, but it sent a sobering message to all canoeists, kayakers and rowers about the dangers of cold water.
Under the Direction of 33 year old Gunnery Sgt. John Browning, who was described as the Marine Corps’ “most expert instructor in water survival, eight trainees comprising the entire class being trained in cold water survival, set out on a routine training exercise in a twenty-five foot wood and canvas canoe. In part because the sky was clear, the water was calm, and afternoon temperatures were approaching 50 degrees, no safety launch accompanied them that day. The water temperature was 36f. All of the Marines were reported to be strong swimmers in top physical condition. What caused their boat to capsize is unknown, “like plunging a hot poker into ice water.” None of them had a chance.
Like many rowing programs today, the Marines training included capsizing exercises to prepare them for emergencies such as this, but at the official inquiry it was revealed that the capsizing exercises were normally done in a heated pool for the obvious reason that it was too dangerous to conduct such exercises in cold water.
At the time of that accident boaters were advised, as they are today, to stay with their boat and climb back in as soon as possible to avoid the gradual, debilitating effects of hypothermia. This accident, however, alerted all recreational boaters to the distinct danger of sudden immersion in cold water: the sudden effects of cold shock.
______________________________________________________________* USRowing neither collects nor publishes accident data, although it announced in 2009 that it would begin publishing accident data on an annual basis. In contrast, British Rowing makes the reporting of accident data a pre-requisite to participation in sanctioned events and publishes a detailed analysis of rowing accidents. A link to the BritishRowing reporting system can be found here: https://incidentreporting.britishrowing.org/why
** Much of this information has been drawn from the excellent Leo Blockley Memorial Campaign site: www.leoblockley.org.uk. Any errors, however, are my responsibility. CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED. Please contact me if you believe any of this information is inaccurate, if you have more information about these accidents, or if you have additional information about other serious rowing accidents that have occurred.