Superyacht chef drowned after night out drinking

Flinn Sessions was working in La Ciotat, near Marseille, when he died

The head chef of a superyacht drowned after falling from a quayside in the south of France following a night out drinking, an inquest has heard.

Flinn Sessions, of Wimborne, Dorset, was working on the Atlantico yacht, moored at La Ciotat, near Marseille, on 9 June 2023.

An inquest at Bournemouth heard the 22-year-old visited several bars with crew members and workers from other boats and was seen drinking beers and shots.

Coroner Brendan Allen told the hearing his friends had asked a waiter not to serve him any more drinks and that he had also knocked some glasses off a table.

Mr Allen said CCTV footage from the early hours of the morning showed Mr Sessions leaning on a bollard on the quayside before falling into the water and swimming to the back of the yacht.

Mr Allen said Mr Sessions was found dead in the water in the morning and post-mortem examinations in France and the UK both found he died of drowning.

Recording a conclusion Mr Sessions's death was the result of an accident, Mr Allen said: "While socialising with friends and colleagues, he had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

"On returning to the Atlantico in the early hours of 9th June, he fell into the water from the quayside and sadly drowned.

"From the fact the CCTV clearly shows Flinn was alone at the time he suffered the fall from the quayside, he wasn't suffering any ill health and this was clearly not something he intended to happen, Flinn died as the consequence of an accident so that will be the conclusion that I will record."