News / Skipper fined for going to sea while drunk
THE “FOOLHARDY” owner of a Fraserburgh fishing boat has been fined after admitting taking charge of his vessel and setting off for the north east of Scotland while he was drunk.
Stephen Ritchie, 55, of East Moss Croft, Fraserburgh, pleaded guilty to “culpably and recklessly” boarding whitefish boat Phoenix in Lerwick Harbour on 2 February 2013 while he and his crew were intoxicated.
The father of seven admitted he had headed to sea while so intoxicated that his ability to function as the vessel’s skipper was impaired.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the crew had been drinking in a Lerwick bar prior to setting sail.
The “stupidity of mixing the sea and drink” could not be overstated, Mackenzie said, adding it was a combination that “time and again has resulted in catastrophe”.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said the vessel had come into Lerwick with its partner vessel, which required repairs. Engineers had asked for a little longer to complete the repairs, so the Phoenix’s crew had gone to the pub.
It subsequently became clear that there was a short weather window in which the Phoenix could return to Fraserburgh – otherwise the crew faced being stuck in Lerwick for three days – and Ritchie decided they should depart.
Allan said his client had been owner and master of the boat for 35 years and, having lost a son who died at the fishing, was normally “very careful” when it came to safety at sea.
Sheriff Philip Mann said it had been a “foolhardy thing to do”, particularly for someone who had “already suffered tragedy on the sea”. He fined Ritchie £600, reduced from £700 to reflect his guilty plea.
Meanwhile his son Matthew Ritchie was fined £300 for drunkenly damaging four cars on the Esplanade in Lerwick on the same date last February.
In addition the 21 year old, also of East Moss Croft, Fraserburgh, was ordered to pay compensation totalling £340 for breaking an offside wing mirror, breaking two rear windscreen wipers, damaging a front wiper and denting the bonnet of one of the vehicles.
Allan said his client had been “drunk to the point that he can’t remember what happened”.
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