Bravery medal for rescuer in yacht drama (From Daily Echo)
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Bravery medal for rescuer in yacht drama
10:31am Thursday 25th October 2012 in News
Charles Sturrock
A SILVER medal for gallantry was awarded to a lifeboat volunteer who rescued novice sailors from a Southampton boat caught in force ten weather conditions, a court heard.
Jurors at Southampton Crown Court heard that Garry Clark leapt from the Dungeness lifeboat in order to rescue seven crew members on board the Liquid Vortex which had sailed into 15mph winds in the early hours of January 3.
The court has previously heard how the skipper Charles Sturrock had set sail the previous day despite adverse weather forecasts and the lifeboat was dispatched after a distress signal was made.
Yesterday afternoon the court heard how Jason Manning, company director of Hot Liquid Sailing Ltd, had received a text from Sturrock after he had made the distress signal, but only three hours later after he woke.
Police interviews revealed that Manning did not make any contact with the coastguard for a further two hours until they contacted him.
Sturrock, 50, from Shropshire, and Manning, 36, of Pluto Road, Eastleigh, both deny a total of seven charges relating to breaches of safety under the merchant shipping act.
Proceeding.
