'The moment my boat sank in the Solent'
A former Royal Navy bomb expert has told how he radioed for help as water rushed into his sinking fishing boat.
Adrian Dann, of Fieldhouse Drive, Lee-on-the-Solent, had to be picked up from a life raft after his 25ft boat began sinking on Sunday afternoon.
The former navy bomb clearance diver had taken his boat, Sea Quest, out for a day of conger eel fishing when the accident happened.
As reported in The News on Monday the 49-year-old, who now has his own commercial bomb disposal business, was about two miles off St Catherine's Point on the Isle of Wight when he alerted the coastguard by radio at 2.40pm.
He said: 'I'm fine now, but I was a bit shocked at the time, and as I'm ex-navy I'm quite surprised by just how shaken up I was by it all.
'I go out fishing as often as I can - that particular mark where we anchor is at the top of a bank which is a well known spot for conger eels.'
Mr Dann believes a cable attached to the anchor may have caused it to damage the rudder stock.
As the water poured in, Mr Dann raised the alarm, only to discover that his GPS system had been damaged.
Mr Dann said: 'You can have all the training in the world but it doesn't prepare you until something like this happens, and different people will react in different ways.
'To be honest, I am a bit surprised with how I reacted - my mouth just went. I couldn't even speak properly on the radio.
'It wasn't exactly a text-book May Day message I gave them. I knew I was approximately two miles south-west of St Catherine's point.'
Mr Dann took to his liferaft and set of an emergency flare, which was spotted by the Port of Spain.
He has praised the crew of Port of Spain, the offshore patrol vessel designed by BAe systems for use in Trinidad and Tobago, which picked him up.
Sea Quest sank in about half an hour and has had to be abandoned. Mr Dann has been talking with his insurance brokers.
Solent Coastguard praised Mr Dann for being well equipped, with a VHF radio, liferaft and emergency flares, which enabled his speedy rescue.
He was returned to Gunwharf Quay where he was reunited, uninjured, with his wife.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
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