Cheeki Rafiki Report Sparks Calls for Mandatory Boat Keel Inspections

A marine engineer is calling for the introduction of mandatory inspections of keel bolts after last year’s tragic capsizing of a yacht in the mid-Atlantic Ocean that left four Britons dead, including a Farnham man.

Captain Ed Geary says such inspections are vital, especially as it is the height of the sailing season.

Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham, was captain of the Cheeki Rafiki – a 40ft Beneteau peformance racer/cruiser yacht – when it capsized on May 16 last year.

The three other crew members aboard the yacht were 56-year-old Paul Goslin and Steve Warren, 52, both from Somerset, and 23-year-old James Male, from Southampton.

A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report concluded the yacht capsized and inverted after a detachment of its keel, reports Get Surrey

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