Titanic II sinks on maiden voyage
- Source: Global Times
- [22:46 June 12 2011]
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When Mark Wilkinson took ownership of a cabin cruiser called Titanic II, perhaps he should have realized the omens were not good.
When he took his new 16ft (4.9 meters) boat out for its maiden voyage, it lived up to its namesake, and sank.
Wilkinson was left floundering as the vessel sprang a leak and began taking on water before disappearing beneath the waves.
Holidaymakers looked on while Wilkinson, from Birmingham, was pulled out of the sea by the local harbour master.
Titanic II was later towed out of West Bay harbor in Dorset.
Wilkinson, aged in his 40s, said afterwards, "If it wasn't for the harbor master I would have gone down with the Titanic. It's all a bit embarrassing and I got pretty fed up with people asking me if I had hit an iceberg."
He had recently taken ownership of the second hand boat and towed it from his home to the south coast for its first outing.
He enjoyed a successful fishing trip in Lyme Bay but as the boat entered the harbor a large hole opened up in the fiber-glass hull. He tried to pump the water out but was forced to abandoned ship when the boat sunk stern first.
One eye-witness said, "It wasn't a very big boat – I think an ice-cube could have sunk it!"
Harbor master James Radcliffe said, "The owner had put his bilge pumps on when he started taking on water but there was just too much of it. The hole in the hull was about six inches square."
