SWAMPING OF SKIFF

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 25, 29 December 1925, Page 10

SWAMPING OF SKIFF

INVERCARGILL FATALITY. RESCUE EFFORTS FRUITLESS, x An inquest into the death of Leonard Warburton, tho young man who met his death under tragic circumstances, was held at Invercargill last week, before Mr J. W ard, actingcoroner, and a jury. Evidence of identification was given by John Samuel Cuthbert Warburton, the father of the deceased. He said that his son was aged 20 years. Ho could swim, but very little. The circumstances of the accident were described by William I raiicis O’Neill, an employee of tho railway workshops and also a member of the Railway Rowing Club. Hesaid that he meb deceased at 2.30 on Saturday afternoon at tho club’s sheds and in company with deceased lie and a man named Young went out in a twooared boat. At about 3.30 they rourned and deceased and witness went out in a skiff. They proceeded down the channel for somo distance and then turned and began to paddlo toward the sheds again. They were sitting quietly in the boat and the sea was perfectly smooth. Suddenly the boat turned over “like a shot”, and they were thrown into the water some distance away. There was no water in the boat and lie could not account for the occurrence in any way. AVitness was a poor swimmer himself and immediately after the accident deceased cried out, “I can’t >swim.” AVitness told him to paddle round until Mr Ross, who was in a launch nearby, came to their assistance. The launch arrived two or three minutes later and witness climbed aboard exhausted. He then saw the deceased a few yards away, sinking, and he saw Ross"stripping himself in readiness to dive. Someone threw a block of wood into the water for deceased to hold. Ross then dived repeatedly from the launch in an unsuccessful attempt to save the deceased.

CARRIED DOAVN THE STREAM.

Questioned further, witness said that ho did not think of trying to regain tho boat or of grasping one of tho oars to support himself. Tho tide was just commencing to run out at tho time and the boat was carried downstream. Both deceased and witness wore nothing save rowing shorts at the time. He had never seen the skiff capsize before. In the past lie had seen members of tho club bathing from it in the channel. He added that Mr Ross had done everything possible to save the deceased’s life.

Senior-Sergeant Scandrett, who appeared for the police, said that a rumour had become current that liquor had boon drunk in the sheds prior to the fatality, but witness denied that either he or deceased had had any or had seen any drink about. THOUGHT IT AVAS SKYLARKING.

Argyle Ross, who wont to the rescue of the young man, gave evidence that he and a man named Kummert were in a launch on the estuary when the pair passed down the channel. In the meantime they were overhauling the engine of the launch and had got it started just when the accident occurred. They were abreast of the skiff and about 20 yards distant when he observed that it had capsized. He thought at first that it was merely a piece of skylarking, as ho had seen men bathing from the same boat before. Then he heard someone cry out, “I can’t swim,” and he immediately turned the launch toward the overturned craft. The swimmers seemed to be making fair headway and O’Neill appeared to bo in the greatest difficulty. Ho reached the launch first, however, and witness hauled him aboard “just about done.” Kummert threw a piece of timber to deceased, who was about 12 feet away, but he apparently did not see it and sank a fow seconds later. MUDDINESS OF THE WATER.

Witness, who had stripped himself in the past few minutes, then dived, but on account of the muddiness he could not see the deceased under water. The water was intensely cold and quite likely to cramp a swimmer. Afterdiving several times without success witness sent word to the police station and the body was recovered at about 11 p.m. in about a foot of water at.the edge of tlie channel. He did not think that the body could have moved more than five or six feet from the spot where the accident occurred. Had the water been clear he considered that he could have saved deceased’s life. He could advance no theory of how the boat capsized. It may have struck slack water suddenly, and thrown the rowers off their bulance. The coroner remarked that the affair was an extremely unfortunate one and emphasised the need for rowers in skiffs either to carry some form of lifebelt that could be inflated in the water, or bo made to pass some test in swimming. He congratulated Mr Ross on saving O’Neill’s life and on his efforts to save deceased, and also expressed sympathy with Mr WarburA verdict of accidental death by drowning was returned.