Finding into death of Peter Boyle
Deceased
Peter Boyle
Demographics
61y, male
Date of death
2022-03-19
Finding date
2023-06-05
Cause of death
Drowning
AI-generated summary
Peter Boyle, 61, drowned in McMillan Strait after jumping into water to free a sail line entangled in his yacht's propeller. He had Parkinson's disease affecting balance and swimming ability, wore only underwear without a life jacket, and misjudged the vessel's drift velocity. A horseshoe life ring thrown to him missed and floated away. Critical omissions included: not wearing an appropriate personal flotation device (PFD) before entering water, not being tethered to the vessel during repairs, lack of safety guidance for mariners with physical disabilities, and inadequate education about lifejacket selection and vessel repair protocols. The coroner recommended Safe Transport Victoria enhance safety material regarding automatic inflatable lifejackets, annual PFD servicing, and tethering procedures for water entry during repairs.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Drugs involved
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Parkinson's disease with impaired balance and compromised swimming ability
- Not wearing a personal flotation device when entering water
- Not tethered to vessel during repair work
- Misjudging drift velocity between yacht and person in water
- Entangled sail line in propeller requiring emergency entry to water
- Inadequate life ring (horseshoe foam) that missed target and drifted away
- Vessel unable to maneuver due to entangled line affecting steering
Coroner's recommendations
- Safe Transport Victoria review information and safety material to include information about annual service and testing of inflatable lifejackets with step-by-step guides or third-party contractor information
- Safe Transport Victoria provide information about availability of automatic inflating lifejackets which may be preferable for people with disability or restriction of movement
- Safe Transport Victoria provide guidance to mariners about precautions when entering water for repair works, including anchoring the boat if possible, tethering to vessel before entering water, and briefing crew members
- Safe Transport Victoria provide this information with annual vessel registration renewal and consider developing an online test to be completed prior to renewal
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