Sponsored by
Sailor tells of moment race yacht crashed
A sailor forced to return home from a round-the-world trip after injuring his eye has said: "I should still be there."
David Paton, 55, from Goosnargh, was about to start on the final leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race when his vessel, Cork, crashed into a barrier reef in the Java Sea 200 miles from Jakarta, Indonesia, on January 13.
Sixteen people had to be rescued by fellow racing yachts.
He said: "I was below deck when Cork hit the rocks and something hit my eye, taking a layer off. I lost my focus and it looked like I was under water.
"It was very painful, and I looked like the guy with the 'swivel' eye from Harry Potter."
A doctor in Singapore said it would be a "foolish risk" for David to continue the race, because his eye would be vulnerable to infection, and he wasn't given a certificate to carry on.
"It was a no-brainer," he said. "But it's the only reason I came home."
There is no permanent damage to David's eye, for which he had laser eye surgery before the race, and it has improved since the accident.
He said: "It's a pleasure to be back with my family, but my mind keeps wandering back."
David, of Goosnargh Lane, is now reunited with his wife, Gill, and daughter, Shona, whom he saw only once during his five months away.
The family spent Christmas together in Australia.
Shona, 14, said: "I'm relieved to have my dad home."
Gill had planned a surprise party for David's expected return in March, but he came home at just two days' notice.
Despite his early exit, he said he took many fond memories from the adventure – including the sight of humpback whales on the South American coast and watching satellites in the clear skies over the Southern ocean.
He said: "I also set the speed record for Cork when I was helming. We were sailing downwind and hit a squall (an increase in wind speed) and I hit 25.6 knots. That was a fantastic experience."
Although he lost his mobile phone, iPod and camera at the bottom of the sea during the crash, which also destroyed Cork, David said: "I have a better souvenir than I could ever ask for, in a smashed-up guitar. It was given to me by a friend before the race and it was salvaged from the wreck and signed by my rescuers."
Cork's crew were rescued by members of competing yachts, California Clipper and Team Finland, after they abandoned ship and used life rafts to wait on nearby rocks.
David now plans to return to work as a personal development coach, a career he began after retiring from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
A new Cork is being built for the rest of the race, and David has put his name down to help deliver it to his crew members, saying: "My involvement in the race is not over yet. And it's certainly not the end of my sailing adventures."
>> Vote in our latest web poll
LEP Clocks: Countdown – and countup to future and past events
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
