islandsailor
New member
Apologies if this is already being discussed, thought it would have been - have had a search and couldn't find a thread covering it
This from a friends blog
BBC ‘Inside Out’ (South West) Mon 16 Jan asks: Did a yacht delivery company pressurise Devon men into sailing in dangerous conditions?
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
I’ve been contacted by this lady Wendy Wood with the following information which seems to me to be worth highlighting on my personal blog.
These are entirely her words:
In December 2006 my brother, a yacht delivery skipper, and his two crew were lost at sea during a hurricane off the coast of Oregon, USA. I believed that these three men died because they were forced to proceed up the Oregon coast against their better judgement and experience. Threats of non-payment and purposely being fed misinformation concerning the weather ahead by the company forced them to continue.
In my possession I had a trail of emails that were sent between my brother and his employer, Reliance Yacht Management/Deliveries, based locally to Southampton supporting this. The emails showed a total disregard on the part of Reliance Yacht Management for the care and safety of my brother and his crew.
In September 2010, I was successful in a civil action against the company before Master Kay, Admiralty Court, Royal Courts of Justice. Master Kay slated the practice and negligence of Reliance Yachts and in particular the Director, Nick Irving.
It was only after this court action that it came to light that two other skippers, recruited by this company, had also died in similar circumstances after being forced to proceed on a trip that was deemed dangerous. Thankfully the crews on these two boats were rescued at the last moment but not the skippers.
It also came to light that Nick Irving had 4 other court judgements against him which have never been settled as mine never has. To avoid paying these judgements, the company is closed and restarted in other similar names. In fact, the Director has recently attempted to close Reliance Yacht Deliveries, the company we successfully took to court, without any attempt at settling the judgement. The closure has been suspended due to an appeal lodged by my lawyer who is still attempting to get settlement.
The BBC has taken up this story and on Monday 16 January, the full 30 minutes of the regional programme Inside Out is being dedicated to these tragedies and the disgraceful and despicable practices of Reliance Yachts and the Director, Nick Irving. The programme will be shown at 7.30 p.m. on BBC1 South, BBC South West regionally or SKY Channel 984.
I am writing in the hope that you can bring this programme to the attention of your readers/members in the hope that word will spread of the dangers of working for unscrupulous companies such as this and the tragic outcomes that can happen for unprotected and unsuspecting skippers and crew. My family and I have suffered 5 traumatic years trying to highlight these practices and our wish is to avoid another family the pain and suffering that we have had.
Kind regards, Wendy Wood
This from a friends blog
BBC ‘Inside Out’ (South West) Mon 16 Jan asks: Did a yacht delivery company pressurise Devon men into sailing in dangerous conditions?
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
I’ve been contacted by this lady Wendy Wood with the following information which seems to me to be worth highlighting on my personal blog.
These are entirely her words:
In December 2006 my brother, a yacht delivery skipper, and his two crew were lost at sea during a hurricane off the coast of Oregon, USA. I believed that these three men died because they were forced to proceed up the Oregon coast against their better judgement and experience. Threats of non-payment and purposely being fed misinformation concerning the weather ahead by the company forced them to continue.
In my possession I had a trail of emails that were sent between my brother and his employer, Reliance Yacht Management/Deliveries, based locally to Southampton supporting this. The emails showed a total disregard on the part of Reliance Yacht Management for the care and safety of my brother and his crew.
In September 2010, I was successful in a civil action against the company before Master Kay, Admiralty Court, Royal Courts of Justice. Master Kay slated the practice and negligence of Reliance Yachts and in particular the Director, Nick Irving.
It was only after this court action that it came to light that two other skippers, recruited by this company, had also died in similar circumstances after being forced to proceed on a trip that was deemed dangerous. Thankfully the crews on these two boats were rescued at the last moment but not the skippers.
It also came to light that Nick Irving had 4 other court judgements against him which have never been settled as mine never has. To avoid paying these judgements, the company is closed and restarted in other similar names. In fact, the Director has recently attempted to close Reliance Yacht Deliveries, the company we successfully took to court, without any attempt at settling the judgement. The closure has been suspended due to an appeal lodged by my lawyer who is still attempting to get settlement.
The BBC has taken up this story and on Monday 16 January, the full 30 minutes of the regional programme Inside Out is being dedicated to these tragedies and the disgraceful and despicable practices of Reliance Yachts and the Director, Nick Irving. The programme will be shown at 7.30 p.m. on BBC1 South, BBC South West regionally or SKY Channel 984.
I am writing in the hope that you can bring this programme to the attention of your readers/members in the hope that word will spread of the dangers of working for unscrupulous companies such as this and the tragic outcomes that can happen for unprotected and unsuspecting skippers and crew. My family and I have suffered 5 traumatic years trying to highlight these practices and our wish is to avoid another family the pain and suffering that we have had.
Kind regards, Wendy Wood
