A yachtsman who drowned while sailing with Holyhead SC, Anglesey, would not have died if he had been wearing a lifejacket, an inquest has heard.
Sailing club commodore, company director and father of two Anthony Campbell, known as Mark, was the helmsman on board a Cork 1720 sportsboat. The 48-year-old businessman, from Trearddur Bay, on Anglesey, was thrown overboard after the pole snapped and the spinnaker ended up in the water, the inquest in Llangefni, heard.
The crew frantically tried to put up another sail while the vessel and the stricken former policeman began drifting apart. Fighting back tears Mr Campbell's brother Jonathan said: 'I was aware that Mark had gone over and I shouted that he had gone over. Then I maintained my eye contact with him while the other crewmembers tried to turn the boat round. He shouted for us to turn the boat around quickly and I shouted back that we were, but it just seemed as though we couldn't make any ground towards him.'
Another member of the crew, Brett Collett, told how he and colleague Paul Rogers leapt into the water after their struggling helmsman. Mr Collett reached him first, but found him unresponsive and lifeless.
North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said Mr Campbell would have survived if he had been wearing a lifejacket. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch also said the crew had no 'man overboard routine.'
