Keel fault blamed for fatal yacht capsize

by Charles Miranda on 8 May 2003 A ship builder allegedly patched over a keel he had accidentally cut in half on the doomed racing yacht Excalibur before it sank, claiming four lives.

The $1 million yacht sank in 10 seconds about 110km off the coast of Port Stephens on September 16 last year with suspicions it lost its keel after a collision with sea debris.

But a police investigation has found the keel snapped in half on a fatigued crack which had been patched over.

It is understood a worker at a Melbourne yacht building firm had accidentally drove an angle-grinder into the three-tonne, bulbed stainless steel keel before welding over his mistake.

Metallurgical tests on a 1.4 metre part of the keel retrieved on the yacht, found the cutting error caused massive stress and fatigue and it would have only been a matter of time before the remaining two metres of the keel snapped off.

This was despite the stainless steel keel having a SAF-225 rating -- the strongest steel grade available.

It is understood the finding -- including extensive interviews with yachting experts, the ship's builders and the worker allegedly involved in the error -- has forced the NSW Coroner's Court into the unprecedented move of considering having a full jury for its inquiry into the disaster.

That inquiry, scheduled for later this year, could include a number of legal representations with a raft of negligence charges possible.

NSW police marine investigative group Sen-Constable Brendan Dean yesterday declined to comment, but said he could confirm his team had ruled out the yacht having hit any partly submerged obstacle.

``I cannot comment further except to say the investigation is completed and we are now putting together a brief for the coroner,' he said.

Excalibur was built by Applied Alloy Yachts in Bayswater, Melbourne. The business is an arm
of Applied Group Engineering.

Spokesman Alex Cittadini said yesterday he did not know the results of the metallurgical report and could not comment.

There is no suggestion Excalibur's designer, well-known Sydney marine architect David Lyons, was in any way at fault for the yacht's demise.

Brian McDermott and John Rogers survived the sinking but colleagues Christopher Heyes, 51, Peter McLeod, 51, Tracy Luke, 32, and Ann Maree Pope, 30, drowned.

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