AN EXPERIENCED sailor and fisherman who died when his boat sank in the English Channel was hailed a hero for saving his friend’s life as an inquest was held into his death, writes Nick Irving.

Peter Cloke was commended for saving pensioner Richard Bayly in the incident in May 2023.

Mr Cloke, 73, had been out on his 20-foot boat Petrel with Richard when the vessel suffered a catastrophic failure.

Retired civil servant Peter managed to make a Mayday call just before the vessel sank eight miles off Torbay in calm conditions.

But an Exeter inquest heard that Peter, of Ide near Exeter, became trapped in the wheelhouse as the boat sank. His body was recovered 12 days later.

Mr Bayly said that water started filling the rear of the boat and the two men started to bail out the water, but the water then came over the stern of the boat.

Former teacher Peter, who was awarded an OBE in 2002 for services to education, became trapped inside the cabin as the boat quickly sank.

Mr Bayly had his life jacket on and was lifted up by the water and was pulled away from the Petrel.

He said earlier: 'I was only rescued because Peter managed to put out a Mayday call just before the boat sank. I owe him my life.’

He said the ‘ingress of water was slow at first but became catastrophic very quickly, upending and sinking the boat almost immediately’.

Mr Cloke's family asked the police to check CCTV from Exmouth marina covering the period from the day before the incident to when it left on its last trip, but police said they did not have it.

The family wanted to know whether it was possible the boat had been damaged while it was berthed in the marina before she went to sea that morning but the lack of obtaining CCTV from the marina was a failure by the police and the family will never know the answer.

An attempt to raise the boat failed when a line snapped because it was too heavy and it remains on the sea floor, the coroner heard.

Det Con Charlotte Craven said her impression was there was a ‘potential malfunction out at sea’ and ‘a sudden failure’ that led to a catastrophic amount of water coming into the boat which led to Mr Cloke being trapped in the wheelhouse.

She said Mr Cloke’s actions should be commended in saving the life of his friend.

The coroner said no one would ever know exactly why the boat took on water and why it sank but said the police had said there were no suspicious circumstances.

The area coroner Nicholas Lane recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

He said ‘for reasons unknown’ the Petrel began to take on water and sank with Mr Cloke trapped in the cabin.

He said the boat was in good condition and well serviced.

Mr Cloke was described as an experienced fisherman and a competent and capable helmsman.