Martin Atwell is a relieved and thankful man today, having escaped injury after the pleasure craft he was driving caught fire at sea around 2 p.m. yesterday.
Atwell, 42, who was rescued by a watersports operator, first encountered difficulties about a quarter-mile off Derricks, St James, when he saw smoke coming from the cabin of the 31-foot United States-registered fibreglass boat.
“I held the cabin door and saw smoke coming out. I looked down . . . and when I stopped, I saw the whole cabin engulfed in fire, all the upholstery, curtains and the ceiling,” said Atwell, who alone was on board.
Two Coast Guard vessels responded to calls from the Vauxhall, St James boat owner; and one of the vessels, the HMBS Leonard C. Banfield, extinguished the flames.
The billowing smoke could be seen from the Holders Hill and Paynes Bay areas, causing drivers and passers-by to stop and stare out to sea. (RJ)
