A charter boat skipper has been cleared of driving dangerously in the waters around one of Scotland’s most famous tourist attractions.
Steven Davie, 32, had been accused of speeding towards two other boats in a series of alleged fast, close passes near Eilean Donan Castle and Kyleakin in the Highlands.
But a jury took just over an hour to return not guilty verdicts on all five charges he was facing under maritime law.
The skipper of the boat Spirit of Adventure was sat in the dock to hear three days of evidence at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Taking to the stand in his own defence, Mr Davie, formerly of Conchra but now living on the Isle of Skye, told how one boat took “no action” as he approached, despite being the designated “give way” vessel.
He said that a boat called the Brightwater took “no action at all” as he approached it, despite his being the “stand on” vessel with priority in that situation.
Davie also detailed how he reduced his own speed and changed direction in order to avoid a collision and passed to the rear of the other boat.
The alleged incident was one of three on August 13 2018, jurors were told.
Their deliberations had to consider whether Mr Davie breached the Merchant Shipping Act or the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
He told the court that he was familiar with the waters, after living in the area since the age of two, and having been on the water since he was a child.
Mr Davie explained that he had made more than 300 trips up and down the stretch of the west coast, in his role as skipper of the Spirit of Adventure – a sea angling charter, which also took passengers on sightseeing tours and transfers.
The qualified powerboat skipper explained that, on the day in question, he was initially taking a sightseeing and wildlife tour past Eilean Donan Castle and later returned with passengers on a fishing trip.
He confirmed that he first passed two boats called the Brightwater and Hecate near to the castle but did not pass them in the manner described by their skippers in evidence as part of the prosecution’s case.
“The track that they have me going over at that time of day would have been land, so it would have been impossible to go over.
“I think it was a low tide. It would have been very low at the time of the incident.”
Asked if his passing had created a wash or wake, he answered: “Just by travelling, yes”.
Mr Davie confirmed that, later in the day, he again saw the two boats, which were supporting a round-Britain record-breaking attempt by the adventure swimmer Ross Edgley.
On this occasion, Brightwater was crossing in front of him, as seen in an eight second mobile phone video, which Mr Davie had recorded and later shown to the jury.
In the footage, Davie was heard to ask: “Who do you think has the right of way here?”
He told the court that he knew he was the “stand on” vessel, and that the Brightwater, which he described as an “agile” boat, had a duty to give way to him.
“The Brightwater should have been aware of me coming from that direction,” he said.
The day before Mr Davie’s defence was presented to the jury, a maritime expert witness for the Crown had appeared to cast doubt on the accused’s conduct at sea.
Royal Yachting Association (RYA) examiner Paul Glatzel told the jury that the skipper in the dock had operated his boat in a “reckless and unnecessary” manner.
Mr Glatzel also said that the alleged incident represented “poor seamanship” and that it would have earned Davie an “instant fail” had he conducted the manoeuvre while Mr Glatzel was examining him.
But Davie confirmed he took action to make sure that the boats did not collide.
Mobile phone video helped clear the accused
He illustrated his claim with the help of more mobile phone footage shot by Hugh Balfour Paul, the skipper of the Brightwater.
Pausing the footage at the point where he claimed to have slowed down, he said: “The boat is back level and has dropped right down. All the water is transferred to the front”.
Davie explained that those were signs of a reduction in speed.
He also pointed out how, moments later, the wash of the boat moved to one side as he altered his course to avoid the Brightwater.
Under cross examination from fiscal depute David Morton, Mr Davie was asked if his third and final pass between the pair of boats and the shore ought to have taken a different route.
He replied: “To get to where I was going, no, because I was going to the shore line, basically.”
Jurors heard how the hull of the Spirit of Adventure had been modified to give the “illusion” of speed.
They were told that the displaced water was deflected out, causing it to foam white.
The previous owner had done this to prevent the water displaced by the hull spraying onto the vessel’s windows, the court heard.
‘I always knew I wasn’t in the wrong’
In his closing speech for the defence, Mr Nicolson told jurors that his client had obeyed the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, which he likened to a maritime “Highway Code, by slowing and changing course during the second incident.
“He is doing what he can to avoid a collision. He is doing all he can. Boats don’t have brakes. We won’t see skid marks on the water. Funnily enough he can’t slam on the anchors.”
The jury took just over an hour to return not guilty verdicts on all five charges.
Steven Davie had previously admitted a single charge of not having a valid medical certificate on the day in question.
He was fined £450 by Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald.
After the verdicts, Mr Davie told The Press and Journal: “I always knew I wasn’t in the wrong”.
The father of two also said that he would be going back to sea soon.
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