Questions over who officially controlled a yacht during the marine collision that killed Virgin Islands musician Frandy Martin Jr. were aired in the opening days of a manslaughter trial in the High Court.
VI businessman Andy Morrell has pleaded not guilty to charges revolving around the fatal incident in Sir Francis Drake Channel at about 6:26 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2021.
At the time of the collision, the court heard, Mr. Morrell was at the helm of the 40-foot Blue Bayou while yacht owner Graham Stanton was below deck using the restroom.
London-based King’s Counsel Sandip Patel, who is prosecuting the case for the Crown, told the nine-member jury at the beginning of the trial last week that Mr. Morrell is to blame for Mr. Martin’s death.
“Mr. Morrell’s reckless conduct led directly to the disaster,” he said, adding, “That accident resulted in the death of Mr. Frandy Martin Jr. and also resulted in severe injuries to others, which the prosecution say were a consequence of the gross negligence of Mr. Morrell.”
But defence attorney Charles Bott, another King’s Counsel, worked to poke holes in the prosecutor’s narrative.
As witnesses testified, Mr. Bott used his cross-examination to raise questions about who ultimately controlled the Blue Bayou and to suggest that it had right of way over the boat carrying Mr. Martin and did not cause the wreck.
Prosecution’s case
During Mr. Patel’s opening statement on July 3, he said that Mr. Morrell joined Mr. Stanton, his wife Sophie Stanton, their two young children, and a mutual friend named William Banks-Blaney for a trip starting at Nanny Cay about 11:30 a.m.
Later, he said, they stopped off at Oil Nut Bay and Saba Rock in the afternoon.
“Throughout the day, the group, including Mr. Morrell, seemed to consume multiple alcoholic beverages,” the prosecutor alleged.
Midway through the return journey to Nanny Cay, Mr. Stanton, who had been driving the boat for most of the day, “handed control over to Mr. Morrell,” Mr. Patel said.
At the time of the collision with the other vessel, Yeya, Mr. Stanton was in the restroom and Mr. Morrell was “in charge,” he added.
Mr. Patel said the impact was “sudden and severe” and the noise of it could be heard on shore.
Thrown in the water
The impact caused Ms. Stanton and her two children, then aged 6 and 8, to be thrown into the water from where they were sitting at the front of the boat, he added.
Mr. Stanton rescued his daughter from the water, and Ms. Stanton was pulled back on board, according to the prosecutor.
On the other boat, Yeya, the man driving and a female passenger were knocked unconscious, and Mr. Martin received injuries that proved fatal, Mr. Patel said.
Mr. Stanton, a fund manager who testified via video link from Switzerland, told the court he had bought the Blue Bayou two weeks before the collision and had taken it out to sea on three previous occasions.
He said that alcoholic drinks had been consumed during the day, but “were not in any way excessive.”
He added, “Approximately halfway to Beef Island, I wanted to go and sit with my family on the bow. Andy [Morrell] was at the helm.”
‘An almighty impact’
Mr. Stanton said they were about a kilometre from Road Town and Mr. Morrell was still at the helm when he went to the restroom.
“We had an almighty impact: I was thrown around a small toilet,” he told the court. “I was in a real state of shock. I was screaming for help and tried to break down the door.”
Eventually, he said, he exited the restroom.
“I saw my daughter in the water, probably about 20 metres behind the boat, so I dived in to rescue her,” he recalled.
Mr. Stanton credited Mr. Morrell for saving his son’s life, explaining that his son was hanging onto a railing and Mr. Morrell reached over and pulled him back onto the boat. Meanwhile, he said, he and Mr. Banks-Blaney pulled his wife from the water.
“She said two words to me: ‘hospital now,’” Mr. Stanton said. “She was clearly unable to breathe and in considerable distress.”
‘I took full control’
Mr. Stanton also described seeing the Yeya nearby.
“I saw a vessel approximately 30 to 40 metres away that appeared to have nobody on board,” he said. “I took full control of the boat. I also called out to the other vessel, and there was no response. There was nobody in the water. I took the helm and headed to Nanny Cay.”
Mr. Stanton, who described himself as an experienced sailor, said he thought the other boat had slipped its moorings.
He added that Mr. Banks-Blaney had called the rescue services.
Right of way
Cross-examined by Mr. Bott about which boat had right of way, Mr. Stanton said, “The other vessel was the give-way vessel; we were the stand-on vessel. It was our right of way.”
Mr. Bott also pressed Mr. Stanton about who had control of the boat.
Asked if he was the person who had power to make decisions, Mr. Stanton responded, “Correct.”
Pressed on whether it was reasonable to describe him as captain of the boat, Mr. Stanton said, “It was my boat. When I was driving the boat, I had full responsibility for the boat.”
Mr. Bott then asked if it was correct that Mr. Stanton, after emerging from the toilet following the collision, said to Mr. Morrell, ‘What the [expletive]? I only left you to go to the toilet.’”
Mr. Stanton replied, “Quite possibly. I was confused and shocked. I can’t remember exact words.”
‘My wife could not breathe’
Mr. Stanton also said that it was “entirely my decision” to take the Blue Bayou back to Nanny Cay.
“My wife could not breathe; my children had unknown injuries,” he said. “I believed at this time that we had hit a boat that had slipped its moorings, given that nobody saw it coming.”
Mr. Bott then suggested that Mr. Morrell had asked three times for the Blue Bayou to go back and check the other boat.
Mr. Stanton replied, “I honestly don’t remember him saying that. But, had he said that, my decision would have been the same.”
Asked why he did not stay longer at the dock after the boat landed to deal with authorities, Mr. Stanton said, “My top priority was to make sure my family didn’t die.”
The jury foreman asked Mr. Stanton about the consumption of alcohol during the day.
Mr. Stanton said Mr. Morrell was “totally coherent,” adding, “I wouldn’t have left him in charge if I thought he was in any way drunk.”
‘The most enormous bang’
Ms. Stanton, who is the daughter of British Tory peer Ian Macpherson, expressed the trauma of the situation as she separately gave evidence via video link from Switzerland.
“I just remember the most enormous bang,” she told the court. “Next thing I remember, I am probably ten or 15 feet under water. It was that quick. It felt like it took forever to get to the surface.”
Ms. Stanton — who suffered three shattered ribs and a collapsed lung, with another four ribs having multiple breakages — said she could hear her daughter screaming when she surfaced.
“I just remember feeling grateful and happy in a weird way, because it meant that she was alive,” she said.
After being hauled back on the boat, Ms. Stanton said, the pain “was so severe I just kept passing out.”
“I could feel myself frothing at the mouth, and I tasted blood,” she said.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My ribs had gone. I saw my children. They were screaming, but I knew they were safe.”
Responsibility
Yesterday, the court heard testimony about which vessel was responsible for the collision.
In written evidence to the court, which he repeated from the witness stand, marine surveyor William Bailey, a prosecution witness, conceded that the Blue Bayou had the right of way at the time of the crash.
However, the boat nonetheless bore responsibility for the collision, he said, citing the Convention of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
“The root cause of the collision was the failure of the [Blue Bayou] to avoid a collision in accordance with Rule 17,” he said of a rule that requires a vessel to take action to avoid a collision even if it has the right of way.
Mr. Bott countered that the Yeya had by that time already broken Rule 15 of the regulations because it had failed to give way the Blue Bayou’s right of way.
Mr. Bailey also acknowledged that the Yeya was travelling at 29 to 30 knots in the ten minutes previous to the incident, compared to around 20 knots for the Blue Bayou, but said he did not consider that a dangerous speed for the Yeya.
Friend’s testimony
Mr. Banks-Blaney gave evidence via video link from Brighton, England on Monday.
Asked if he had concerns about the amount of alcohol drunk before the group headed back to Nanny Cay, he told the court, “If I had any concerns, I wouldn’t have got back onto that boat again.”
He also said he did not drink any alcohol during the trip.
The prosecution rested its case yesterday.
Mr. Morrell has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and causing serious injuries to three other people.
The trial — which is presided over by Justice Stanley John — is scheduled to resume on Friday.
