SW-INC-0039SeaWise Incidents

Vision - Collision with an anchored yacht off Cannes

A high-speed pass in a crowded anchorage cost a life.

verified · 3 sourcesONN
Vessel
VisionMotor yacht
When
2019Mediterranean
Outcome
Returned safely
Position
Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes, France
Sea area
Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates
43.52°N, 7.04°EApproximate position
Summary

What happened.

On the evening of 25 May 2019 the motor yacht Vision attempted a fast, close pass of the anchored motor yacht Minx off Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes. Vision struck Minx's bow, killing a crewman standing on Minx's foredeck. Vision was travelling at more than six times the anchorage's 5-knot limit, and her skipper had used cannabis, impairing his judgement.

Lessons learned

What it teaches.

  • 1
    Respect anchorage speed limits. Vision was doing over 30 knots where 5 applied; high speed near anchored boats leaves no margin for misjudgement.
    collision
  • 2
    Never operate a vessel under the influence. Recreational drugs impair judgement and reaction time, even in habitual users.
    collision
  • 3
    You are still exposed at anchor. Stay alert to passing traffic, and remember crew working on deck are vulnerable to a strike.
    collision
  • 4
    Match the manoeuvre to the boat. Vision's surface-drive propulsion was demanding and left no room for error in a fast, close pass.
    collision
Sources

Where this comes from.

Official report· MAIB (UK)Collision between motor yachts Minx and Vision with loss of 1 lifeVisit ↗News· Superyacht NewsMAIB publishes accident report into Vision and Minx collisionVisit ↗News· SussexWorldFamily pays tribute to Midhurst man, 27, killed in France yacht crashVisit ↗

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Record IDSW-INC-0039
Curated bySeaWise editorial
Confidenceverified · 3 sources
Record typeIncident

About SeaWise records: We catalogue sailing emergencies with structured metadata and link to primary sources rather than republishing them. Individual crew names are anonymised by default— sources we link to may name them publicly; SeaWise refers to roles ("the skipper", "the crew") on our pages. Submitter identities are always private.