Kiwi skipper dies in sailing accident on round-the-world trip

A New Zealand skipper died after being pulled into a faulty winch in the UK.

British authorities released on Friday the findings of their investigation into 74-year-old Lyall Babington's death.

Babington had set off from New Zealand about three years earlier, intending to sail Mollie around the world.

Babington lived on the 17-metre yacht, recruiting crew members at various ports.

One crew member had been with the vessel for approximately five months, two others had only joined the day prior to the fatal accident.

On 5 August, Mollie had reached the Western Solent on its way to Poole in England when Babington's hand became caught in a rope as he tried to raise the sail.

"As the winch continued to turn the skipper was progressively pulled tighter onto the winch drum, causing severe injuries to his arm and hand, trauma to his head and chest, and pinning him around the winch," the report into his death said.

The crew tried to stop the winch using the control switch.

"After a number of attempts the winch stopped turning and the crew assessed the skipper for signs of life. The skipper was unresponsive and tightly wound over and around the winch," it said.

The crew then raised a 'Mayday' and a lifeboat and rescue helicopter were sent to the yatch to try and free Babington from the winch.

"As they did so, and without warning, the winch activated and released the skipper and he fell onto the deck."

Despite their efforts to revive Babington, he could not be saved.

A post-mortem examination of the skipper was carried out, the results of which are pending.

A preliminary investigation found the wench had a known defect which sometimes caused it to continue to operate after the control switch had been released.

The powered winch had likely been installed by a small boatyard, and the installation was not mass-produced.

No further action was undertaken by authorities.

rnz.co.nz