Swamping and sinking of angling vessel Shayne with loss of 2 lives
Location: Approaches to Burry Inlet, Wales.
Completed PE Summary: Shayne
A short summary of the accident:
| Recreational Craft/Accident Details | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Shayne |
| Owner | Privately owned |
| Type | CJR Sports fishing boat |
| Built | 1980s |
| Construction | GRP |
| Length Overall | 4.30m (14ft) |
| Date/Time | 02/10/2007, 2000 |
| Location of Incident | Approaches to Burry Inlet |
| Incident Type | Swamping and sinking |
| Persons Onboard | 3 |
| Injuries/Fatalities | 1 injured and 2 fatalities |
| Damage/Pollution | Vessel sank but was later recovered |
Synopsis
A small, private, angling vessel, with three local men on board, was returning home at a speed of 6 knots after a days fishing off the Gower Coast, South Wales. The conditions were calm; it was a flood tide and a 2m swell was running from the south west. As the vessel neared the disused light house at Whiteford Point in the Burry Inlet at about 2000, a large breaking swell wave swamped the vessel from astern and she foundered. Although fitted with a GPS receiver, navigation was by eye and the vessel had got too close to a bank where large waves are known to break at certain stages of the tide.
After the vessel foundered, the three men were left in the sea and they elected to swim to the shore in the dark. The men were not wearing lifejackets and had no means of raising the alarm. The vessel’s owner was picked up by another angling boat at 2024 and was landed and taken to hospital where he was treated for mild hypothermia. Unfortunately, the other two men drowned and their bodies were recovered by the local lifeboat at about 2300.The vessel was subsequently located and recovered to the shore.