Hull sailor died after collapsing during dinghy race - inquest

Richard Blowman died from drowning after falling unconscious

A sailor died after collapsing into the water while taking part in a dinghy race, an inquest has heard.

Richard Blowman was taking part in the event at Keyhaven Yacht Club in Milford on Sea, Hampshire on April 30 2022.

During the fourth race of the day, the 45-year-old from Hull was found unconscious with his head in the water, the inquest was told.

The coroner said the cause of death was drowning, but what caused him to lose consciousness could not be confirmed.

David Walker, a friend of Mr Blowman, told the inquest in Winchester he appeared to be tired and anxious when he arrived late for the race, but added that he was in good spirits when he was on the water and had given him a thumbs-up.

Graham Rudkin, who was in the safety boat, said he found Mr Blowman's upper body in the water with lines around his feet but they were not tangled in the ropes.

The inquest heard that a post-mortem examination found that Mr Blowman, a merchant shipping engineer, had died from drowning but he also had raised levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate in his system - a chemical produced by the body to produce energy when not enough food has been consumed.

Coroner Jason Pegg said Mr Blowman had previously been diagnosed with anxiety as well as non-epileptic attack disorder and had suffered seizures at least twice.

'He was a real adventurer'

Recording a narrative verdict, he said: "Richard, who was a very capable sailor, suffered a period of unconsciousness during the course of the race.

"When he became unconscious he clearly was unable to control the dinghy any more, it lost the wind in its sails, it was now drifting.

"It is unclear exactly how Richard became unconscious, it seems to be two possibilities.

"Firstly, he had one of these seizures which he had experienced on at least two occasions previously, or the unconsciousness was caused by these elevated levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate."

He added: "This is a tragic incident, Richard died doing something he loved and had a real passion for."

Mr Bowman's sister Anne said: "He was kind, ambitious, caring, would do anything for anybody. He loved his family, he was a real adventurer, loved to be on the water, swimming, on his boat, on his bike."

The hearing was told that Mr Blowman had intended to take part in the Finn Masters world championships in Finland last summer.