Peter Dredge has criticised report into crash on Southampton Water

Peter Dredge today said he is seeking legal advice over the findings of the investigation in to the crash which he feels is unfair and inaccurate in parts.

As previously reported by the Daily Echo, he was on the water testing a Vector V40R powerboat when it flipped and struck a navigation buoy near the entrance to the Hamble River.

On board was his 17-year-old son Simon, who was left unconscious, trapped and drowning inside the upturned vessel.

Mr Dredge, 53, a powerboating double world champion and European champion, dived back to pull his son free before he and his friend Lee tried to resuscitate him on the upturned hull until emergency help arrived.

Simon however remained gravely ill and his family were warned he may die following the catalogue of horrific injuries he suffered in the accident in May last year, which included a fractured vertebrae, a broken arm and collarbone, multiple breaks to his ribs while both of his lungs had collapsed.

A probe was launched by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch which published its findings this week, concluding that measures taken to mitigate the risks were "insufficient".

It also went on to say that all crew on board were not strapped in or wearing crash helmets when the vessel flipped at speeds of around 70 miles per hour when Mr Dredge turned sharply to avoid what he thought were dive buoys signalling people could be underneath the surface. Had they been, their injuries might have been less serious, the report added.

The manoeuvre caused the boat to hook - before it violently pulled to one side and flipped over.

The MAIB report went on to highlight how no formal written risk assessment about the test had been completed and the harbour authority responsible for that stretch of water, Associated British Ports, had not been informed of the test.

It also raised that ABP had no formal powers to enforce speeds on the water, adding that there been a limit in the area where the crash happened the likelihood of it happening would have been reduced.

it could have been avoided altogether, it continued, had rules around the laying and marking of fishing buoys in Southampton Water been complied with as the markers may have been seen and recognised earlier than it was.

The report continued: "In order to safeguard all on board, there is a need for the training and personal safety requirements of the race rules to be applied to all racing powerboats involved in or preparing for organised racing events, including tests, and whenever inexperienced crew or passengers are carried."

Investigators did however go on to praise Mr Dredge’s "selfless" actions in saving the life of his son, Simon, who spent several weeks in St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where he remained sedated and on a ventilator while a specialist ECMO machine was used to help his lungs to repair themselves.

They said: “But for his swift action it is unlikely that his son would have survived."

Now 18, Simon has made a remarkable recovery and is studying at university and has also returned to several sports, Mr Dredge told the Echo.

He has not yet gone back on the water in a powerboat, but most probably will this year, he added.

Mr Dredge, who is the technical director and co-founder of Warsash-based boat building firm Vector World, said he first saw a draft copy of the report and had responded with his thoughts and supplied significant further information.

He had initially written a lengthy contemporaneous report of what happened in the crash while he was at Simon's hospital bedside and was unsure if he would survive, he added.

He told the Daily Echo he did not want to comment further at this time about the content of the report but said his company was seeking adive from his company lawyers.

A statement said: “Following the publication of the report of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch on last year’s Vector V40R accident, Vector is currently taking legal advice regarding the information contained in this document.

“As this is a legal matter, it is not appropriate for us to make any further comments.”

panel: THE high-speed crash shocked onlookers who witnessed the drama as the powerboat flipped and a large-scale emergency rescue operation got underway in the Solent.

The drama unfolded at 8.20am on the morning of Wednesday, May 13 and made headlines both locally and nationally after it was captured on camera by people who had lined the shore waiting to see the world's largest container ship arrive in port in Southampton.

The RNLI and Coastguard helicopter were involved in the rescue operation as Mr Dredge's wife Fiona and her sister stood helpless on the car park of the Rising Sun pub in Warsash having heard the news and raced to the scene.

on the hard, ambulances were lined up waiting to take all of the casualties to hospital.

Since the incident, ABP says it has issued a notice to mariners on safe speed in Southampton Water.

It has also liaised with the Royal Yachting Association to spread the word to powerboat operators that any tests should notify the harbour authority in advance and be conducted under harbour authority and racing guidelines.

ABP said it has also started the legal process to get powers to regulate speed limits and the marking of fishing gear in its waters and spoken to local fishermen.

The RYA is drafting advice for its 2016 race rules that operators of powerboats should follow the same safety guidelines in preparing as they would in organised racing.

The report recommends boat owner Vector ensure its future powerboat activity is in keeping with safety requirements under RYA Race Rules.

Southampton Harbourmaster Martin Phipps, on behalf of ABP, said: “We are pleased with the MAIB’s conclusion that, in the interests of safety of navigation, people intending to undertake high speed manoeuvres or any activity that could impact other harbour users should risk assess that activity and notify the Harbour Authority.”