Ouzo- Ferry Officer Not Guilty of Manslaughter
by Sail-World Cruising on 13 Dec 2007
Sailfish 25 similar to Ouzo SW
In a case that caught the imagination and interest of the world wide public in August last year when three sailors were drowned off the coast of England when their yacht sank, a ferry officer has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of the three.
Michael Hubble, 62, was accused of failing to raise the alarm after the 37,500-tonne Pride of Bilbao P&O car ferry he was in charge of which allegedly narrowly missed the sailors yacht, Ouzo, off the Isle of Wight last year.
James Meaby, 36, Rupert Saunders, 36, and Jason Downer, 35, died when sailing to a regatta in Devon when the yacht sank on August 21 last yearJames Meaby, 36, Rupert Saunders, 36, and Jason Downer, 35, died when sailing to a regatta in Devon when the yacht sank on August 21 last year.
The jury at Winchester Crown Court is still considering seperate charges under the Merchant Shipping Act of engaging in conduct as a seaman that was likely to cause death or serious injury to the three men.
Mr Meaby stayed alive in the water for 12 hours while Mr Saunders and Mr Downer survived for three hours before they either drowned or succumbed to hypothermia, the court heard.
Hubble, of Wine House Lane, Capel-le-Ferne, Folkestone, Kent, had denied manslaughter through gross negligence. He was impassive as the verdict was given by the jury and simply bowed his head.
During the six-week trial, the jury heard that the three men, who were school and university friends, left Bembridge on the Isle of Wight on the evening tide of August 20 en route to Devon to take part in the Dartmouth regatta.
Experienced sailor Mr Saunders, from Tooting, south London, was the owner and skipper of the Ouzo, which was 24 years old but well-maintained and equipped.
Mr Meaby, also from Tooting, and Mr Downer, from Kent, were also experienced sailors. All three men were found dead with their lifejackets on and inflated.
Hubble maintained throughout the trial that he had a close-quarters incident with a yacht that was not the Ouzo.
In the witness box he said he was 'perfectly happy' that his vessel had missed a yacht and that he had no reason to call the captain.
Hubble told the court the yacht had gone into his 'comfort zone'. But he said that manoeuvres he made were only to give the yacht room and were not an emergency.
The jury was also told that experts from South Tyneside College calculated that the Ouzo was close to a 3,000-tonne coastal tanker called Crescent Beaune and not the Pride of Bilbao at 1.40am on August 21.
The captain of the tanker, Alaistair Crichton, told the jury he had broken the law when he had only a second officer and not another lookout on his bridge that evening.
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