The man at the helm of a yacht in which four people died after a collision with a cargo ship in Dublin bay had almost twice the level of alcohol in his system which would be permissible if he were driving a car, an inquest heard yesterday.
The inquest into the deaths of helmsman Glen Styles (42) from Killiney, his brother Mark Styles (39) from Templeogue, Eleanor Cullen (43) from Foxrock and Rowan Smith (48) from Terenure, all Dublin, was told the four drowned when their yacht, the Debonair, collided with the MV Bluebird just off Poolbeg lighthouse shortly before 3 a.m. on May 20th last year.
The four friends were returning from watching a belated St Patrick's Day fireworks display when the tragedy occurred.
A jury at Dublin City Coroner's Court returned verdicts of misadventure in the case of each of the deceased, each of whom was married with two children. It urged that any recommendations made by a Department of Marine investigation into the circumstances of the collision, which is still ongoing, be legislated for and implemented.
Extending his condolences to the families, the coroner, Dr Brian Farrell, said he hoped "all yachts people and mariners of all hues will take account of the evidence we have heard and hopefully something positive will come out of the inquest".
Earlier, the deputy state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, said tests carried out on blood and urine samples from each of the deceased showed they had "moderately high" levels of alcohol in their systems. She said Mark Styles had 213 mg of alcohol in his blood and 280 mg in his urine; Mr Smith 206 mg and 261 mg; Ms Cullen 174 mg and 217 mg and the helmsman Glen Styles had 169 mg of alcohol in his blood and 210 mg in his urine.
The legal limit under the Road Traffic Act, which does not apply to yachting, was 80 mg for blood and 107 mg for urine.
Dr Cassidy pointed out that the body of Glen Styles was not found for 19 days and at that point his blood alcohol reading would have been somewhat elevated by post-mortem changes. The reading from his urine sample would have been "the best indicator", she said.
Dr Cassidy concluded death in each case was due to drowning.
She said if one had almost twice the legal level of alcohol in one's system, it would affect co-ordination and reaction time. Alcohol, however, affected different people in different ways, she said, adding: "I've dealt with people who died at that level," referring to the alcohol level of Glen Styles.
Mr SΘamus McLoughlin, deputy chief surveyor with the Department of the Marine, said an examination of the yacht showed it was initially struck on its starboard side and rolled over on to its port side. The vessel appeared to have been operating "at almost full ahead speed" when the impact took place at a 90 degree angle.
Summing up, Dr Farrell said the yacht had set out from Malahide and had hoped to travel upriver and beyond the East Link bridge, where it had booked a berth for the night, but the bridge was not raised due to industrial action.
It ended up berthing on a pontoon at Poolbeg Yacht Club but the area was not very stable and after the fireworks, those on board decided to make some of the journey home and berth in Howth. They set off at 2.15 a.m.
He said what occurred subsequently was "a great tragedy for four families". He said the sole survivor, Mr Philip Daly, had told the inquest he was on deck when he suddenly heard another vessel sound its horn. He turned around and was facing "a wall of steel".
Other evidence, he said, indicated the yacht suddenly changed direction and this brought it into collision with the MV Bluebird. Why it changed direction was not known, Dr Farrell said.
He offered the jury either of two verdicts: accidental death or death by misadventure.