Lyall Babington: New Zealand sailor on round-the-world trip died after being pulled into faulty winch
A 74-year-old man who was sailing around the world died after being sucked into a faulty crane, an inquest has found.
New Zealand national Lyall Babington suffered catastrophic injuries after he was caught in a rope and pulled into the device, “wrapped tightly” around its drum.
His team rushed to stop the crane using the control button, but he could not be rescued.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report concluded that the winch was faulty.
Mr Babington had been living on the 17-metre yacht Mollie for three years, sailing from New Zealand and picking up crew at various ports.
One crew member had been on the ship for nearly five months, while the other two had joined the ship just a day before the fatal accident.
On 5 August this year the yacht left West Wittering, West Sussex, heading for Poole, Dorset.
At 11am Mollie was south-southwest of Needles off the Isle of Wight.
The MAIB said the winch was working when pensioner Mr Babington tried to lift the sail and his right hand became trapped in the ropes.
“The winch continued to turn and the skipper was pulled more and more tightly into the winch drum,” the report said.
“The crew tried to stop the crane using the control switch.
“After several attempts, the crane stopped turning and the crew assessed the captain for signs of life. The captain was unresponsive and clung tightly onto and around the crane.”
An RNLI lifeboat and a rescue helicopter were sent to the yacht and attempted to rescue Mr Babington from the crane.
As they did so, the crane operated without warning, knocking the pensioner onto the deck, MAIB said.
Despite all efforts, Mr Babington could not be saved.
Investigations revealed a known flaw in the crane’s controls, which sometimes caused it to remain open after the key was released.
MAIB said no further action was taken.
