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Yacht manager found not guilty in Cheeki Rafiki deaths

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Capt Ralph, May 4, 2018.

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  1. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,727
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Is it me? Am I really out of it?

    You have a RACING SnailBote.
    When it races, all of the equipment get a pretty good work out. Just up to the stress or working loads of the equipment.
    A couple of gust, big waves during the race could really over stress all equipment.

    Then the bote is recalled, then thru a storm, and much later over due;
    Found with it's keel missing (short story) and 4 souls missing.

    I am truly sorry for loss of life. Please don't get me wrong here.

    The ship had a failure. Nobody will ever know what happened.
    People and companies are up for murder / man slaughter / and other criminal charges.

    Whisky Tango Foxtrot???

    Further thoughts, Dale Earnhardt's manager was not charged with a crime, this was tragic also but there was no crime.
    Dales manager was within 1000 feet, unlike the snailbotes manager, over a thousand miles away.
    Last edited: May 4, 2018
  2. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Linky...?
  3. Ward

    Ward Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2010
    Messages:
    266
    Location:
    Vancouver BC
    The Wikipedia article seems to be a good summary - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeki_Rafiki

    I had a bit of trouble finding a copy of the MAIB report, got it here - http://www.sailing.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MAIBInvReport_8_2015.pdf

    It seems like the Wikipedia article is a pretty accurate summary, but the conclusions are limited in scope by the fact that the overturned hull wasn't recovered, so investigators were only able to work from pictures taken when the hull was found.

    Charging the management company with manslaughter seems like mostly a PR move.
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,149
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    It s a european thing... while the US legal system is out of control when it comes to liabilty, in europe it s the criminal system which is widely abused.

    One of the most well known example is probably the decade long criminal case pursued by a local italian prosecutor against the Williams F1 team following the death of Ayrton Senna.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Ayrton_Senna
  5. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2010
    Messages:
    2,261
    Location:
    Beaufort, NC
    This connects with another thread we had about insurance coverage with defense coverage. Seems a waste of money til you need it.