Man tried to rescue pal May 4 2004
Andy Passant And Dave Robson, Evening Gazette
A grieving mum today told of her son\'s frantic efforts to save his friend as a seaside boating trip ended in tragedy.
Peter Blount, 47, from Redcar, and his friend Bernard Powell, 56, from Stokesley, both lost their lives after the cabin cruiser they set out in capsized off the Teesside coast.
A third man, 20-year-old Philip Ridout, survived the terrifying ordeal off South Gare, near Redcar, on Sunday.
Coastguards launched a massive search for the missing three crew members after the alarm was raised at 3.30pm.
But it\'s believed the boat sank between midday and 1pm - meaning Mr Ridout had to endure a nightmare three hours, sitting on top of the submerged boat\'s hull, before he was eventually rescued.
Redcar teenagers James Hutchinson, 14, and Terry Milburn, 15, raised the alarm after spotting him waving his arms and calling for help.
Mr Ridout was picked up by a Redcar lifeboat crew and taken to hospital but tragically, his two friends died.
Mr Blount\'s devastated partner Jane Trainor told the Gazette \"they died heroes\" but was too upset to make any further comment.
But his mother Margaret Bonson, from Redcar, today spoke of her heartbreak.
She said she was told by Mr Ridout that her son had tried to save his friend Bernie.
Speaking at her home in Laburnum Road, Redcar, she told the Gazette: \"Bernie had asthma. He was only very slight built. He kept falling off every time a wave came. Peter kept going out and bringing him back.
\"He wouldn\'t leave Bernie because he couldn\'t swim. He would not have coped if anything had happened to Bernie.\"
And she revealed how her son phoned Jane to say he was enjoying himself shortly before the trip ended in tragedy.
She said: \"You just feel numb after a bit.
\"I don\'t really know what happened. All we know is that they went out fishing.
\"Peter phoned his partner just before it happened.
\"He said \'we are having a marvellous time, the weather is great\'.\"
Mr Ridout told her it was only a short time afterwards that the boat capsized.
Mrs Bonson described her son as a caring person who liked to help others.
\"He would give anybody anything, do anything for them. He was generous to a fault.\"
The tragedy happened as Teessiders flocked to the coast to enjoy the warm weather.
A search was launched involving five lifeboats, from Redcar, Hartlepool and Teesmouth, the rescue helicopter from RAF Leconfield and Redcar Coastguard rescue team.
Mr Ridout, who suffered a broken ankle and severe hypothermia, was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
A probe into the cause of the tragedy is now under way.
Police today confirmed the trio had trouble starting the boat before setting out just before midday.
On reaching South Gare, the engine cut out again and the boat began taking in water very quickly, throwing all three men into the sea, a police spokeswoman said.
Dave Cammish, of Redcar Lifeboat, today appealed for anyone who saw the cruiser from before midday onwards on Sunday to contact police.
And he confirmed Mr Ridout could have been in the water for up to three hours before he was picked up at 3.30pm.
He said: \"The indications are the boat went down between noon and 1pm, but we\'re a long way from any explanation as to what happened.
\"The weather was fine and there was no indication from the boat of damage that could point to it hitting something or running aground.
\"The survivor did indicate they had some mechanical problem they were trying to fix, but the water came in so quickly they didn\'t have time to use their VHF radio.
\"The boat was only half a mile off the beach and half way between Majuba Road and Teesmouth, very near to the British Steel outfall pipe.
\"It was a nice day and a lot of people were on the beach.
\"Maybe people saw something and didn\'t realise the significance. After all, when we launched, we thought it was to someone sitting on an upturned jet-ski.
\"We just want anyone who saw that cabin cruiser at any stage to contact the police. It could help shed some light on this terrible tragedy.\"
Police say the boat is due to be examined in conjunction with maritime and recovery experts from Southampton
Two questions i would ask are Why did they go to sea knowing the engine had problems and obviously no auxilary, flares etc and why did the man who can not swim not have a life jacket on.
Still no one deserves to die RIP Lads and hope that others can learn from this. :exclam: