Skipper relives fatal yacht voyage

6:25 AM Sat 27 Jun 2009 GMT

'Excalibur after fatal capsize' .

The skipper of the yacht Excalibur that capsized after its keel snapped off says it was the most terrifying experience of his life, and that he had prepared himself to die. Brian McDermott was describing his reactions while giving a victim impact statement at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday.

McDermott and five crew were tossed into the sea off Seal Rocks, on the NSW mid-north coast, when the keel on their racing sloop Excalibur snapped in rough seas as they sailed from the Whitsundays to Melbourne.

The crew had experienced winds of 50 knots on the 2002 voyage, and were trying to change sails and travel to Port Stephens when the keel split and the 15-metre yacht capsized.

Mr McDermott and crew member John Rogers spent about nine hours in the sea before being rescued by a Swiss merchant ship.

Crew members Tracy Luke, 32, Ann Maree Pope, 30, Christopher Heyes and Peter McLeod, both 51, all lost their lives.

It was later found that the keel of the million-dollar boat had been cut and then poorly welded back together, fatally weakening it.

The man in charge of the keel's construction, Alex Cittadini, was found guilty in April of four counts of manslaughter.

Mr McDermott was returning the boat to Melbourne for its owner, Alan Saunders, who had sailed the boat to Queensland's Hamilton Island for races in September 2002.

Mr Saunders had disembarked to fly home for work.

'Trapped under the boat in the cold and dark ... it can only be described as the most terrifying experience I've been through,' Mr McDermott told the court.

'The hopelessness of the predicament overwhelmed me. I prepared myself to die, I made peace with God.'

The experienced sailor said the loss of his four crewmates, including good friend Mr Heyes, had had a lasting effect on his life.

For years he had blamed himself for the tragedy, he said.

'For years following the accident I carried the responsibility for the death of the crew,' he said.

'Physically, it took me weeks to get over the accident. Emotionally, it took me years.'

Cittadini told the hearing he did not know the yacht's keel was faulty at the time of the voyage, and only became aware it had been cut and poorly welded together during the 2005 coronial inquiry.

He said he had originally intended to take part in the voyage from Hamilton Island, at the invitation of Mr Saunders, but had withdrawn because he had other commitments.

by WA Today/Sail-World Cruising