# SY Cheeki Rafiki



## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

The management company owner has not been found guilty, only charged at this point. But an interesting case.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...cht-douglas-innes-charged-manslaughter-deaths

_The director of the yachting management company for the Cheeki Rafiki has been charged with manslaughter after the vessel capsized in the North Atlantic, killing its four crew members..._

It seems the crew were delivering it from Antigua back to the UK after its charter season ended.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Hmm, I guess it is all HuntaBenalina's that can lose their keels. 
Used to be only Hunter was singled out for this misfortune (when only 1 or 2 actual occurances happened). Many builders including Tartan have had issues with rudders/keels although in small numbers. 

This was a real tragedy with 4 lives lost. 
One has to wonder if there was some overlooked maintenance on this Bene 40 (keel bolt inspection/tightening) or if somehow the design failed.
I'm expecting that Beneteau will get dragged into this case to defend their design/build practices.


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## jephotog (Feb 25, 2002)

Arcb said:


> The skipper was 22 years old?
> 
> I will be curious to read the reasoning behind 4 man slaughter charge. Not only must the manager have been pretty negligent, but he must have left a pretty good trail of bread crumbs if they feel they have enough evidence to charge him with manslaughter.
> 
> Scary thought for folks who manage boats for a living.


Keep in mind it is an English court that is pursuing manslaughter charges. In the US the families would likely be a civil case trying to go after the deep pockets of the boat management company or even Beneteau.

I think it would be necessary to prove mismanagement of maintenance and know why the keel fell off. The age of the skipper also gives me pause. But at what age are you capable of managing a boat whose keel falls off in rough seas?


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

I haven't been following this closely. Was the delivery also part of an off-shore sailing school? Looks like one of the named is Stormforce Coaching. If so, the "coach" was 22 years old. I don't have a big problem with a 22 year old being the captain for a delivery, but, seems like a bit of a rip-off to have a 22 year old being an instructor for advanced offshore coarse work.


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## RandyDee (Oct 7, 2016)

For the purpose of reference regarding this thread, a link to the MAIB Report of the Loss of _Cheeki Rafiki_ - [PDF]


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Arcb said:


> The skipper was 22 years old?


By the time I was 22 I'd had almost ten years of boating experience on fishing boats from Mexico to Alaska, nine round trips to the Orient on ships and numerous coastal deliveries and several trips to Hawaii and back under sail.
I don't think age is the important factor, rather experience.


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## RandyDee (Oct 7, 2016)

Barquito said:


> I haven't been following this closely. Was the delivery also part of an off-shore sailing school? Looks like one of the named is Stormforce Coaching. If so, the "coach" was 22 years old. I don't have a big problem with a 22 year old being the captain for a delivery, but, seems like a bit of a rip-off to have a 22 year old being an instructor for advanced offshore coarse work.


It was a delivery from Antigua Sailing Week to her home port in Southampton, having completed her winter Caribbean season (ARC 2013 [race logs], Round Barbados, Caribbean 600, etc.) _Cheeki Rafiiki_ was serving as a crewed race charter. The Storm Force director and person seemingly charged in this incident skippered _Cheeki Rafiki_ during Antigua Sailing Week with the skipper during the loss serving as mate.


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## RandyDee (Oct 7, 2016)

Manslaughter Charges Sought in Yacht Tragedy



> "We have authorized the charging of Douglas Innes with four counts of gross negligence manslaughter and Douglas Innes and Stormforce Coaching Limited with one charge contrary to section 100 Merchant Shipping Act 1995," said Ian Harris, from the CPS Wessex.
> 
> "These charges relate to the deaths of Andrew Bridge, James Male, Stephen Warren and Paul Goslin in the North Atlantic in May 2014, following the loss of the keel on their yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki. The decision to charge was taken in accordance with the Code of Crown Prosecutors."


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## RandyDee (Oct 7, 2016)

Arcb said:


> Any experts or gifted amateurs in British Maritime law know how its commonly applied in practice?


I certainly not qualified for either catagory, but the MAIB recommendations seem to address your point:



> The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is recommended to:
> 
> 2015/119 Issue operational guidance to owners, operators and managers of small commercial sailing vessels, including:
> 
> ...


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## Invictus (Dec 28, 2012)

capta said:


> By the time I was 22 I'd had almost ten years of boating experience on fishing boats from Mexico to Alaska, nine round trips to the Orient on ships and numerous coastal deliveries and several trips to Hawaii and back under sail.
> I don't think age is the important factor, rather experience.


Captain Fitzroy of HMS Beagle (Darwin) was only 23 when he took over the command of the first voyage and 26 when he undertook the second voyage, so yes, maturity and experience is what matters. I guess nowadays, a large number of PC/entitlements-obsessed millennials in their mid-late 20's are still infantile to be given such responsibilities and should be no surprise when they are treated as such.


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

Arcb said:


> Where did this come from?
> 
> As much as you guys believe that age could not have played a factor, and I'm not saying it did, but to illustrate, age independently of what you describe as maturity and experience could have been a factor in this incident, consider the following.
> 
> ...


I really don't see how you can equate small craft sailors with professional mariners. 
As many have pointed out on this forum and others, there are many production sailing boats touted as "ocean worthy" that should not be considered when one is seeking a boat for an ocean crossing. It seems that many disagree, and that is borne out when I look around any anchorage in the Caribbean. 
I can make no definitive comment about the Cheeki Rafiki incident as I wasn't there (and nobody survived to tell the tale) so I don't know if this was a slowly developing problem or an immediate catastrophe, in which case no amount of experience on the part of the captain or crew would have made any difference at all, IMO.
You didn't mention WHERE you did your service and all these rescues, but neither coast of Canada (or the Great Lakes for that matter) could be considered to be fair weather sailing, much of the time. Neither is it a heavily traveled part of the world for commercial traffic, comparatively. But certainly, big ships can better handle the Canadian weather than most small craft.
I think we can both agree that GPS has enabled way too many unqualified people to put to sea.
I couldn't care in the least if some yachtie puts to sea unprepared and unqualified. He's basically only a danger to himself and his crew. What I do object to is his knowing he has a "get out of trouble free card" at the taxpayer's expense, risking the lives of people like you because he wants to go mess about on his boat. If that wasn't available, I think a lot fewer folks would venture offshore without the experience and knowledge necessary to successfully complete the voyage, especially in an unsuitable vessel.
However, there is no way to compare the experience necessary to sail a 40 foot sailboat across an ocean to that of a master in charge of a commercial behemoth.


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