HARTFORD, Conn.—The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday that a sailboat mate’s error was the primary cause of a nighttime boat crash on Long Island Sound that killed his 29-year-old fiancee last year.
The mate, Nardus “Blue” Bothma, failed to correctly read the lights of an oncoming 600-foot coal freighter, the Coast Guard investigation found. He couldn’t see the freighter’s port light and steered the 92-foot sailboat directly into its path, when he thought he was maneuvering away, officials said.
The Coast Guard said the crews of both vessels also failed to realize there was a risk of collision and didn’t communicate adequately before the accident on Sept. 20, 2006.
Gina Bortolotti, a northern California native who was a chef on the sailboat, the Essence, died. Bothma and Essence captain Ian Robberts were rescued and survived. The 29 crew members aboard the freighter Barkald were not seriously hurt. Testing showed that neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor.
The crash occurred a few miles north of Riverhead, N.Y., in New York state waters, about 12 miles southeast of New Haven. The Essence sunk in 90 feet of water.
Lead Coast Guard investigator, Dawn Kallen, said the agency is now considering whether penalties, including a possible civil fine, are warranted against Bothma.
Bothma, a sailor, diver and photographer who grew up in South Africa, did not return an e-mail message Wednesday. A search for his current hometown turned up addresses in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Lewiston, Calif., but no phone numbers.
He and Bortolotti had bought a home in Lewiston, Calif., and intended to start a family, according to her obituary.
The sailboat was being leased from a private owner by Quintess LLC, a Boulder, Colo.-based “luxury destination club.”
“Quintess continues to extend its deepest condolences to the family of Gina Bortolotti for this terrible tragedy,” said Ben Addoms, the company’s founder and executive vice president.
“The crew were not employees of Quintess,” he said. “We believe it to be most appropriate for the U.S. Coast Guard to continue to see this investigation through to its proper conclusion.”
The freighter, registered in the Marshall Islands, was heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Bridgeport. The yacht, registered in the Cayman Islands, was on its way to Greenwich from Newport, R.I.
