Cheeki Rafiki - Douglas Innes to face retrial over manslaughter
by Sail-World on 17 Jul 2017
Cheeki Rafiki - keel missing US Navy
The Director of Stormforce Coaching, the company that ran Cheeki Rafiki, is set to face retrial for manslaughter over the deaths of the four crew. They were 700nm from Nova Scotia, returning to Southampton after racing in Antigua when the keel feel off. It is said that previous groundings had weakened the keel bolts, and after the challenging conditions often experienced in the Northern route of an Atlantic crossing, the boat was eventually found, sans keel.
In failing to ensure the safety of the vessel, Douglas Innes will now face retrial over manslaughter, after being convicted of failing to operate the yacht in a safe manner, contrary to the Merchant Shipping Act. The prosecutor said: “The yacht was unsound, broken and unsafe before the four men left Antigua. The yacht had been neglected, not maintained and importantly, because the yacht was used commercially by Mr Innes and his company, not inspected as required.”
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