The Marinervideo
Marine Accident Investigation | 'Mollie'
December 2, 2025 · 22 min · 14K views · The Needles, Isle of Wight
What this video covers
Skipper Lyle Babington, 74, died on 5 August 2025 after his right hand became entangled in a powered 24-volt DC winch aboard his New Zealand-registered sailing vessel Molly, approximately 2.8 nautical miles south-southwest of the Needles Lighthouse, Isle of Wight.▶ 1:22 Babington had departed West Wittering for Poole with three crew and was raising a storm jib in the Western Solent when the accident occurred.▶ 5:15 A hoist rope left on the inboard aft winch from earlier in the day began turning as he cleared it; the winch had a known intermittent defect causing it to continue operating after the control switch was released.▶ 6:23 Crew attempted to stop the winch and eventually succeeded, but Babington had already sustained severe injuries to his arm, hand, head, and chest.▶ 10:44 RNLI crews performed CPR; he was pronounced dead.▶ 14:44 Chris reviews the MAIB preliminary report, explains the mechanical advantage of powered winches, and discusses the "dagger grip" technique — little fingers closest to the drum — as a way to allow hand extraction if a line runs.▶ 19:14 He also covers remote emergency stops for powered winches, the hazard of long rope loads on any winch, and a separate incident involving a furling failure on a Southern Wind 95 caused by split deck rubbers admitting water to the hydraulic furling control.▶ 16:10 A faulty winch control switch, not seamanship failure, was the critical factor in Babington's death.▶ 15:03
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