The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has warned members of the public involved in boating and marine leisure pursuits at all levels of competence and experience that the consumption of alcohol adds to the associated risks.
The warning comes following an investigation into the drownings of two Mayo men at Inishbofin Island on October 10 last year.
The two deceased men, Donal McEllin and Ger Feeney, both from Castlebar, were en-route from Clew Bay to Galway Docks on Mr McEllin’s yacht Quo Vadis when they decided to stop off at Inishbofin for the night.
Upon arrival at Inishbofin Harbour they moored the vessel, secured it, and then used the inflatable tender to come ashore.
Both men spent a number of hours socialising in Day’s Pub on the island, and they departed in the early hours and returned to the pier. They were both wearing personal flotation devices, the investigation by the MCIB found.
According to the investigation local people saw the men getting into the tender. Ian Day, in his statement to an Garda Síochána, said that out of concern for their safety he had offered to ferry both men out to Quo Vadis in another boat, but they declined his offer as they needed their own tender the following morning.
Mr Day drove to the end of the pier and used his jeep headlights to ensure that the inflatable tender had reached the vessel. That was the last sighting anyone had of either man prior to the incident.
It had been agreed with both men that they would turn off the external lights on the vessel when they safely boarded as an indication to those ashore that all was in order, but they failed to do so and Mr Day assumed they had forgotten about it.
Met Éireann reported winds from an east or southeast direction with a mean speed of force four to six and some stronger gusts at the time of the tragedy. Waves were moderate to rough.
Nobody actually witnessed the tragic drowning of the two popular Castlebar men, whose bodies were discovered on October 10, Mr McEllin’s on West Quarter Beach and Mr Feeney’s afloat, under the upturned tender.
Upon investigation the yacht and the tender were found to be in good condition.
Based on available evidence the MCIB concluded that the fatalities most likely resulted from a combination of “executing a night-time transfer from a small inflatable tender to a vessel that was swinging on a mooring, possible tiredness and diminished human performance resulting from the effects of alcohol consumed during the preceding hours while socialising ashore”.
