A LIFEBELT is thrown to a sinking boat — called the Titanic.
The 16ft cabin cruiser sprung a leak on her maiden voyage, like her famous
namesake 99 years ago.
Hapless owner Mark Wilkinson was left clinging to his prized vessel as it
slipped beneath the surface.
After being rescued from the harbour at West Bay, Dorset, gutted Mark, 44,
said: “If it wasn’t for the harbourmaster I would have gone down with the
Titanic.
“It’s all a bit embarrassing — I’m fed up with people asking me if I hit an
iceberg.”
Mark bought the £1,000 boat second-hand, named it Titanic II and towed it to
Dorset from his home in Birmingham for its first outing.
He went fishing in Lyme Bay but as he returned to the harbour a large hole
opened up in the fibre-glass hull.
Mark tried to pump the water out but was forced to abandon ship as Titanic II
went down stern-first. It was later pulled on to a slipway.
Tourist Margaret O’Callaghan, 63, said: “Someone said, ‘That boat is sinking’.
There was a big guy desperately holding on. I shouted at him to jump and
someone threw a line. He was fine — but dripping wet.”
The liner Titanic sank on her maiden voyage to New York in 1912 with the loss
of 1,517 lives.