A professional sailor died after being struck on the head by a failed piece of rigging while training on a luxury superyacht, a coroner has ruled.
Sam Richmond, 37, from Southampton, was fatally injured when a metal fitting failed aboard the 102ft yacht Farfalla during preparations for the Superyacht Challenge Antigua on 8 March 2022.
He was knocked unconscious after a pad-eye - a metal bolt used to secure rigging - fractured, causing a pulley (known as a block) to swing loose and hit him in the head.
Mr Richmond was airlifted to Broward Health Medical Centre in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he died two days later.
An inquest held at Winchester heard that the pad-eye had developed 'fatigue cracking' over time due to misalignment and repeated stress forces during sailing.
