The sole survivor of a boating accident which claimed the lives of three men in Bantry Bay last summer has described how he tried to keep one of them afloat by putting his hand under his back in the water.
Ed Dziato said that as Richard Harmon rolled over in the water he looked at him with a look of ‘thank you’ in his eyes.
Mr Dziato was giving evidence today into the deaths of Richard Harman, 69, Wolfgang 'Mike' Schmidt, 70, and Wolfgang Schroder, 62, who drowned when Mr Schmidt's motor cruiser 'The Castaway' caught fire and sank in Adrigole Harbour in Bantry Bay on 16 August 2010.
A verdict of accidental death caused by drowning was returned in all three cases.
Mr Dziato was winched to safety by the Irish Coastguard Helicopter.
He told the Coroner's Court in Bantry today that the four had been angling all day in Bantry Bay. They had brought sandwiches and drink with them. None of them were wearing life jackets.
He said the fishing was good and the boat's owner had remarked it was ‘the best day ever’.
But during the afternoon, one the men noticed the boat taking on water. They used three pumps to clear the water, but after about 20 minutes they smelt smoke and on checking behind the control panel, found the insulation was melting and it burst into flames.
Mr Dziato says he used a fire extinguisher but the flames kept getting bigger.
He said Mr Schmidt was very calm but bewildered at what was happening.
Mr Dziato rang 999 and said the heat was unbearable and they were forced to jump overboard, even though Mr Harmon could not swim.
Mr Dziato said they could not get at the lifejackets because they were in the front of the boat.
He said Wolfgang Schmidt was a retired Sea Captain and very safety conscious with his boat. It was, he said, in tip-top shape.
He said everyone but Richard Harmon had been drinking over the course of the day. Mr Dziato thought the fire was caused by something overheating in the electrics.
John Murphy, a Shipwright from Bere Island, told how he had carried out some repairs to 'The Castaway' the previous May.
He noticed that the wiring behind the instrument panel - which was propped up on a block of wood - looked messy and he mentioned this to Mr Schmidt.
But Mr Schmidt said he planned to sell the boat at the end of the summer and he would sort it out then.
Mr Murphy told the court he believed an electrical overload at the panel could have caused the fire which caught hold in a matter of minutes.
Asked if he felt the boat was seaworthy, Mr Murphy said that Mr Schmidt was an experienced Master Mariner, but he would not have put to sea in it.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said all three men had died from drowning. She said levels of alcohol were found in both Wolfgang Schroder and Mike Schmidt's systems.
Cork County Coroner Frank O'Connell expressed his deep sympathy to all three families and remarked that on a beautiful day like today you could understand why so many people chose to retire to Bantry.
He said 'The Castaway' was a fine boat, and the men had clearly enjoyed a great day's fishing. He added that it was most unfortunate that it ended in tragedy.