It is with great sadness that we learnt today of the passing of Ray Cracknell. Ray a well known character of the club and committee member was spending the night on his boat Kia Kia. Around 2am this morning the Police were alerted to shouting by a local resident. It would seem Ray had been in the mud and water. Sadly Ray did not survive.
The Police have been at the club all day and will be examining the boat on the tide.
Our thoughts go out to Rita, Rays wife at this sad time.
A sad day, Ray was always there to assist – help – advise. A genuine good guy
You will be remembered.
Ken
Such sad news. Ray was there to meet us when we trailed our little boat from collecting her in Liverpool to the club as new members last year, and was full of help and advice when we were setting her up – a kind man who will be greatly missed.
Very sorry to hear about such a sad loss of a highly valued member and an accident all of us must dread. And it could happen to any of us. What I think we need now to consider is firstly whether there is anything that could have made his boat easier to get back on – if indeed that was the problem – we will probably never know the circumstances and challenges he faced. Looking at his boat recently it certainly has a very high freeboard, more than most, and the boarding ladder – way back aft on the transom – and when the boat is sitting on the mud – has a bottom rung I’d guess at least 3 foot above the mud surface, and difficult to get a leg onto. It’s unlikely such a sad accident would ever happen again, but maybe there should be a mud sled available for rescuers on the jetty ? What are the arguments for and against the main gates having a coded unlocking system – so local emergency services could more easily access the boatyard ? I heard that the lock was cut by the fire brigade ? Luckily we had a replacement. Just my very immediate thoughts – and no doubt others will also have many more contributions. Ralph B – . Tiki .
Such sad news l had the pleasure to work with Ray for over fifteen years, he was a lovely man and will be sadly missed my thoughts are with his family who l also had the pleasure to know. Travel well my friend
This is incredibly sad news, I was Ray’s apprentice in the 90’s, and worked alongside his son Ian for years.
I’ve always thought about Ray along the years and the values he taught me that has stood me in good stead for my career.
He was funny, charismatic, firm but fair, and always willing to help, a big impact on mine, and undoubtedly many other peoples lives.
He will definitely be missed – My thoughts are with Rita, Ian and the rest of the family.
In the words of Ray himself.
‘god bless – be lucky’