RELATIVES of four sailors who died when the keel of their yacht broke off and it capsized in the Atlantic sobbed as the businessman who managed the vessel was cleared of their manslaughter.

Romsey resident James Male, Andrew Bridge, both 22, Steve Warren, 52, and Paul Goslin, 56, were sailing the Cheeki Rafiki 4,000 miles from Antigua to the UK when the tragic accident happened.

Skipper Mr Bridge sent two emails and attempted to call businessman Douglas Innes, who managed the yacht through his firm Stormforce Coaching, when the vessel started taking on water.

Innes, 43, had been drinking in a pub with colleagues at the time and did not call the coastguard for help until he got home later, before sending a long email explaining how Mr Bridge could stop the leak.

The keel snapped from the underside of the vessel around 1,000 miles off the coast of America, causing it to capsize in the Atlantic ocean.

Tragically, despite a week-long search, which even involved the US Navy, the four men’s bodies were never found.

Prosecutors alleged Innes had failed to correctly maintain the yacht leading up to the incident in May 2014.

It was also claimed he had charged Mr Warren and Mr Goslin £10 a day to be part of the crew, despite knowing the permit allowing him to have paying crew members had expired.

However, Innes denied this was the case, saying the crew were volunteers at that time and were making a leisure trip. He said he had inspected the 40ft yacht a number of times, never noticing any damage.

At Winchester Crown Court, Innes looked relieved in the dock as the jury cleared him of four counts of manslaughter after 15 hours and 33 minutes of deliberations. Loud sobs were heard from victims’ relatives sitting in the public gallery.

Innes will now be sentenced for safety failings he was convicted of at an earlier trial.

During that case, in July last year, Innes and his company Stormforce Coaching were both convicted of failing to ensure a ship was operated in a safe manner.

Jurors at that first trial failed to reach a verdict on the four counts of manslaughter, which he denied, while the new jury have now cleared him.

After clearing Innes, the jury handed a note to the judge revealing “concerns” over the certification and testing of yachts.

Mr Justice Nigel Teare read the note to the court which said: “We are deeply concerned by the evidence we have heard about the regulations involved in this case.”

He adjourned the case until May 11 for Innes, of Southampton, to be sentenced for the safety failings he and his company were convicted of at the first trial.