Lessons Could Have Avoided Sailing Deaths

by Northwales.co.uk/Sail_World Cruising on 30 May 2006 New boat owners take heed: Sailing lessons are often thought of as a matter of fun, but accident investigators into the sailing deaths of a man and his grandson off the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, have appealed for ALL NEW BOAT OWNERS TO HAVE SAILING LESSONS as a matter of safety.

It was fine weather when the man, his son and two grandsons set out for a sail last July. However, the investigators, as well as making the recommendation for sailing lessons, also found that the boat was wrongly categorised and totally unfit for use at sea.

The family's boat is thought to have been hit by a wave and overturned, three and a half miles off shore. When they were seen and saved by fishermen shortly after 4.00pm, it is thought that they may have been in the water for up to three hours. Coastguards said that all four members of the family were wearing life jackets. The Daily Post reported that fishing boat captain Justin Zalot described what happened when they arrived at the scene.

'It was rough, very windy. I could see there was a young lad clinging onto the boat, and an elderly fellow in the water,' he said. He said he could see the young boy 'was very ill'. 'They were all suffering hypothermia, you could see that right away,' he said.

'My fishermen were taking clothes off their own backs to put around all the casualties to try and keep them dry, keep them warm.'

However, William Tinsley and his grandson Ben died, while Ben’s bigger brother Shaun and his father Jason survived.

An inquest into the deaths of the two heard new safety guidelines should be brought in after it emerged no one on board was trained how to sail.

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