Catamaran Capsize.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

I have been in contact with the Coroners Office as I fully expected that a Coroners Inquest would take place to fully investigate this tragedy. But, I have now learnt that this did not take place after all.

Here is what they have advised me:-

Re: Death of Helen Cooper Case No: 2019/216607
Death of Robert Cooper Case No: 2019/216696

Thank you for your email.

I can advise that the above matters were finalised on 19/12/19. An inquest was not held.

Section 27 of the NSW Coroners Act 2009 sets out those circumstances in which an inquest is required to be held. If those matters outlined in the legislation are able to be determined without an inquest being held then the Coroner may dispense with the holding of an inquest which is what has occurred in this case. No recommendations were made by the Coroner.

A copy of the legislation is attached for your information.

Attachment 227448


So, unfortunately that looks like the end of the line on this matter.

No full report about the likely cause of the accident which claimed 3 lives, no recommendations for other mariners or catamaran manufacturers.

I find this very disappointing as I would feel that a lot of good information would have come out of such an enquiry.

"If those matters outlined in the legislation are able to be determined without an inquest being held then the Coroner may dispense with the holding of an inquest which is what has occurred in this case."

Then they should be able to describe what the determination was.

Honestly, I doubt that there is any meaningful determination which was made, simply a decision not to do it, and for some purely Australian reason, to stonewall it.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by wingssail

"If those matters outlined in the legislation are able to be determined without an inquest being held then the Coroner may dispense with the holding of an inquest which is what has occurred in this case."

Then they should be able to describe what the determination was.

Honestly, I doubt that there is any meaningful determination which was made, simply a decision not to do it, and for some purely Australian reason, to stonewall it.

That's interesting.

And you are all certain there aren't any separate accident investigation?

Over here I think we have two separate tracks that both are usually activated when life is lost in an accident at sea: the determination of the cause of death (coronary) and a separate accident investigation (safety investigation authority).

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

That's interesting.

And you are all certain there aren't any separate accident investigation?

Over here I think we have two separate tracks that both are usually activated when life is lost in an accident at sea: the determination of the cause of death (coronary) and a separate accident investigation (safety investigation authority).

No, I'm not at all sure. But from where I am now I don't think I could look for it. Maybe someone in Oz could pursue that angle.

[JPA Cate]

Fred, it would probably take someone with connections to the water police in NSW, if it really is they who have jurisdiction....

Someone could, of course, contact ABC radio about it.

But what I think is that, sailors have been lost at sea for a long time, and we are sort of used to not knowing exactly what their fate was.

Plus, Australia has less population than the US, and less services, too. Someone would have to fund such an investigation, and it is only important to sailors, a very small percentage of the whole population.

We may just have to accept that we will never know for sure all that happened.

Ann

[BigBeakie]

Ann,

It seems it's not so much that Oz doesn't have the services, as much as they are more concerned about statistics than actual accident investigation.

This is the type of pretty, statistics based, report that the States are very good at.

https://maritimemanagement.transport...port_17_18.pdf

They are good to get a snapshot of maritime incidents, but not very helpful as an educational tool for boaters/sailors on specific measures that could be taken to improve safety.

Compare this to what NZ does with accident analysis. They do superb work in this regard, eg:

https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/comme...eport-2016.pdf

However I note that Maritime NZ now have this note on their website:

Maritime NZ seldom produces accident investigation reports for public publication. It was determined these were not widely read, particularly by parts of the community for whom safety was not a priority. It now aims to highlight safety messages through other avenues, including our magazine “Lookout!”.

Maritime NZ now aims to highlight safety messages through other avenues, including our magazine Lookout!. We also publish monthly accident, incident and mishap notification summaries.

What a shame. The kind of investigation & analysis shown in the example of the Platino accident will be sorely missed by sailors looking to improve systems on their boat, such as boom preventer systems.