Yachtsman’s marina fall costs States £20k fine

The man survived, but suffered a number of broken bones and other injuries.

A guilty plea had previously been entered to a charge of failing to provide safe access to the marina pontoons, including edge protection.

Judge Russell Finch said the victim had suffered an unfortunate accident, which should have been foreseen.

The Royal Court heard how the gangway was used to access D pontoon.

At low tide, when the gangway was steep, there was a V-shaped gap at the top, which was covered by pairs of low chains. The highest was at 52cm.

On 8 September 2018, the victim, who was from a visiting yacht, had drunk several pints of beer and some wine before going to the Proms on the Pier event. After watching the fireworks, he headed back to his vessel.

As he turned at the top of the pontoon gangway, he lost his balance and went to grab the chain. However it was too low and slack and he tumbled over the side.

In his victim impact statement, he said that as he fell he thought he was ‘done for’ and felt lucky to be alive.

He woke up several days later in intensive care in Southampton, having suffered damage to his lungs and spine, as well as a number of fractured ribs.

The court heard how he had gone through a long and painful healing process.

Prosecuting advocate Rory Calderwood said the charges were brought based on the fact the situation had been in place for sometime and were an ongoing risk to all people using the area. Yet it had gone unidentified.

He accepted that alcohol was likely to have played a part in the victim’s accident, however he was not in such a state that he could not look after himself. He noted that the area was a danger to all people – sober or drunk.

Defence advocate Gordon Dawes said changes had now been made to the gangway and systematic risk assessments were now taking place around the harbour.

Following the judgment, Guernsey Harbour issued a statement, confirming that changes had been made since the incident.

‘Despite the high standards maintained within all of our marinas, it is unfortunate that, on this occasion, our marina infrastructure was deemed insufficient by the Guernsey Health and Safety Executive,’ a spokesman said.

‘We very much regret that an individual sustained injuries whilst using the marina.’

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