Drink and lack of proper lifejackets blamed for deaths of four anglers

William Carty, 47, his 42-year-old brother Steven, Craig Currie, 30, and 36-year-old Thomas Douglas died after their boat sank on Loch Awe, Argyll, in the early hours of 21 March 2009.

They had been making their way back from a pub on the shore opposite the place where they had set up camp.

A fatal accident inquiry into their deaths was heard over a seven-month period at Oban Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Douglas Small ruled yesterday that the men’s lives might have been saved if they had been wearing fully functional, properly secured and fitted lifejackets and if they had not consumed alcohol before making the collective decision to take their boat out on to the loch.

He also found the deaths might have been avoided if they had “taken responsibility for their own safety” and had taken the weather conditions, the lack of visibility and potential hazards on the loch into account before setting out.

In his determination the sheriff described what happened as a “very tragic accident”.

He wrote: “It is not speculative, in my opinion, to suggest on the basis of the evidence heard at the inquiry that had the deceased been wearing fully functional and properly secured lifejackets their lives might have been saved, nor is it speculative to suggest that their deaths might have been avoided if they themselves had taken responsibility for their own safety by not venturing on to the loch in such appalling weather conditions.”

He added: “In finding that the deaths might have been avoided had they not consumed alcohol before going on to the loch, I have taken into account the evidence of drink consumed by the men before they left for the Tight Line public house, and also the evidence of how much drink was consumed there.”

The sheriff said he found no evidence to suggest any criticism of the emergency services or the systems of work used by them.

“Their individual responses and the manner in which they carried out their duties in extremely difficult conditions were commendable,” he said.

The four men, all from Glasgow, had gone to Loch Awe on a fishing trip. The group had with them a small fibreglass boat which was given to Mr Douglas six weeks before the accident.

Shortly before 11pm on 20 March, 2009, the men set out in the boat to visit the Tight Line pub in Loch Awe village, about 500 yards away from the campsite. A fifth member of the party, Edward Colquhoun, stayed behind to look after their base.

The four got into difficulty as they returned by boat.

The inquiry heard that during their time at the pub, the weather “deteriorated dramatically” and went from being dry and clear to cold and “exceptionally misty and foggy”.

Witnesses heard shouts coming from the loch, but were unable to see more than a few feet in front of them.

The alarm was raised by Mr Colquhoun, who woke to hear cries for help and realised his companions had not returned.

The emergency services, Maritime Coastguard Agency and a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from Prestwick all went to the scene, although the visibility was too poor for the helicopter to carry out a search.

The bodies of Mr Currie and William Carty were recovered shortly after the accident, while the bodies of the remaining two men were discovered more than two months later. The boat has never been found.

Sheriff Small also found that there was no register of local assistance available to be called upon by the rescue services at the time of the accident and that there were “communication difficulties” for the emergency services in attendance.

He further found that individual members of Strathclyde Fire Service were not equipped with lifejackets at the time.

David Goodhew, assistant chief officer and director of operations at Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service, said the accident underlined the importance of being safe around water.