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Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Boating Accidents

I've said it many times on this web site and I'll say it again---fog and darkness are the two biggest killers on the ocean.

Edouard Michelin, who was the co-managing partner of the Michelin Tire Group, which included not only the tire company but the much praised Michelin Guide series of travel guides, restaurant guides, and hotel guides, was killed in a boating accident Friday. He departed on Friday morning for a half day fishing trip on a 24 ft boat called the "Liberty" The were fishing with rod and reel (the French call it line-fishing) for sea-bass. It was foggy. It appears that he was due to return at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

Sea-bass is not a sport fish but is sought after as a delicacy.

The area he was fishing was about 7 miles off the coast, midway between the Ile de Sein and the Ile Centre, on the Brittany Coast of western France---on the Southern approach to the English Channel. "It is a risky zone where only knowledgable professionals can fish. There are rocks, currents, it is true a boiler" said Jean-Marie Figue, spokesman of the maritime prefecture of the Atlantic.

Neither the boat nor the guide has been found, but I suggest this (I've been doing this professionally as a lawyer for 23 years, and for 34 years, if you count my time working aboard ships):

1. Ejection--the boat hit a rock, or floating debris etc. while running at high speed in fog. These types of accidents tend to happen to experienced operators who "know these waters like the backs of their hands." They are usually the result of overconfidence. The operator and passenger (Michelin) were ejected. Probability 60%.

2. Collision---boat was hit by a passing commercial ship which couldn't see it because of its low profile. A fiberglass or wood boat in heavy swells is virtually invisible to ships, either on radar, or even to a diligent look out. Probability 20%

3. Internal defect----the boat sprung a plank which caused it to sink quickly, without time to get off a radio call for help. Probability 10%.

4. All other causes--foul play, swamping, stability problems. Probability 10%.

According to the Sunday Times (London) "The accident took place near Ile de Sein, off the coast of Brittany. The tyre magnate had been aboard a fishing boat that sank without explanation. It had been a foggy day but the sea was calm."

According to ShortNews.com "Michelin's fishing partner, Guillaume Normant, has still not been found. The boat sank after the accident and no more details are known. It had left the Brittany port of Audierne on Thursday night."

According to The Independent "M. Michelin had persuaded the president of the local fishermen, Guillaume Normant, to take him line-fishing for sea bass in his 24ft boat, the Liberté. Weather conditions were said to be reasonable but not perfect with low visibility and a heavy swell from recent high winds. Robert Bouguéon, the president of fishermen in a neighbouring port, Guilvinec, said that M. Normant had ben reluctant to take M. Michelin out but had allowed himself to be persuaded.

"It was his good heart that killed him. He couldn't say no," M. Bouguéon said.

The cause of the accident remained a mystery last night. Although the area, off the island of Sein, is one of the most treacherous parts of a hazardous coast, M. Normant knew it well."

C'est tragique. My condolences to the people of France and the Michelin family.