As the title says, I lost another sailing buddy last weekend.
Mick had just started off on a solo Round-Britain adventure, but was lost overboard off Dover.
His lifejacket didn't inflate, I don't know whether that's because it was only a manual model, or if it was automatic and failed to activate.
His family reported him overdue into Dover and his empty boat was found not far away. His body was recovered off Dover after a short search.
He'll be missed, we used to discuss boaty stuff at work when he nipped in for a chat/advice. He was the person that gave me the Garmin chartplotter for Sprite.
I assume more details will come out over time, whether he died as a result of falling in the water or something happened before he left the boat.
Those booms are always a risk, luckily I was never badly clouted by one.
I know I've been out in a gale (Force 6) just to see how Sprite performed, but I always made sure in conditions like that I was tethered to the boat.
Mick was a really genuine, helpful and humorous guy. He always cheered you up when you talked to him.
RIP Mick, you'll be missed and if your FaceBook profile is any judge, by a lot more people than me.
