Sailor, 68, dies after fall from new boat

A WESTCOUNTRY sailing community has been left shocked and saddened by the death of a man who fell overboard hours after taking delivery of a new boat.

Sailor Peter Smith, described as a larger-than-life character, was on board the Targa motor cruiser, which had just been delivered at his mooring, with about eight friends when he fell into the River Dart at Kingswear near Dartmouth.

The 68-year-old retired businessman, who was an active member of both the Kingswear Rowing Club and the Royal Dart Yacht Club, was eventually pulled from the river more than 900 yards downriver from the 23ft boat.

A friend last night revealed how he and others had tried to save Mr Smith in the seconds before he was swept away.

Peter Smallwood, who lives about 200 yards from Mr Smith in Kingswear, was one of those on board the motor cruiser, Edward, when the accident happened at about 8pm on Sunday.

"He left the cabin and went around to the back of the boat. It's brand new and he hadn't even used it," said Mr Smallwood. "It seems he fell in. Whether he had a seizure we don't know. We heard a splash and we went outside. We threw out a horseshoe lifebuoy. He tried to swim back but then he went under the water."

Mr Smith was finally found an hour later in the mouth of the Dart between Dartmouth and Kingswear Castle after a major search involving two helicopters and Coastguard and lifeboat teams from Dartmouth, Brixham and Berry Head.

He was pulled from the water by the Dart Inshore Lifeboat team, whose trained paramedic attempted to resuscitate Mr Smith in the minutes it took to get him ashore.

An ambulance crew continued resuscitation as they took Mr Smith to Torbay Hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 10.30pm.

Mr Smith had lived in Kingswear with his partner, Melanie, for a number of years and worked part-time for the Ancasta Darthaven yacht brokers where staff described him as "a lovely bloke".

He had a yacht called Puffin which he kept at moorings at Darthaven Marina and had just bought the motor cruiser. It had been delivered from Brighton and Mr Smith had taken his partner and friends to look over it.

Mr Smallwood said: "He invited us down there for a bottle of champagne to celebrate the new boat. He was a jovial chap and he had been busying himself with the yacht club and with rowing. He has done a lot of sailing, travelling around the Med. He was a very safety-conscious sailor. This is a terrible accident."

Yesterday, the Royal Dart Yacht Club flag was flying at half-mast. Commodore Mike Moody said: "This has been an absolute shock. He was larger than life."

He said Mr Smith and his partner had been to a Christmas party at the yacht club on Saturday night, adding for the last three years, Mr Smith had been responsible for organising sailing races during the annual Dartmouth Regatta.

"He was very nice, very helpful and took on responsibility," said Mr Moody. "He was not just a member who expected everything to be here for them. He was a key member of the regatta committee."

Pat Kelly, a former secretary of Kingswear Rowing Club said Mr Smith had been active with the club both rowing and coaching. "At one time, he was very helpful with looking after the junior rowers. He did a bit of coaching and coxing," she said. "He was a tremendously nice person and extremely helpful. He always seemed to be happy. His death is a shock and a great loss."

Both the police helicopter and Coastguard helicopter from Portland were involved in the search. Dart Harbourmaster Capt David White said: "The water is cold. Unless you are pulled out quickly, the prognosis is not good."

A police spokesman said there were no suspicious circumstances. A post-mortem examination has been held but the coroner was awaiting test results before a cause of death could be determined.