British girl, 18, dies after falling from yacht’s mast
THE death of a British teenager who fell from the mast of a luxury schooner in the Caribbean was being investigated last night.
Bethany Smith, 18 – described by friends as “a ray of sunshine” – suffered multiple injuries after falling while cleaning the vessel which is berthed in Jamaica.
She was working as a junior deckhand on the £7million, 196ft-long Germania Nova in the Errol Flynn Marina near Portland when “ropes became undone” according to local police. Bethany, originally from Glyn-Dyfrdwy, Denbighshire, North Wales died hours later at the nearby Port Antonio Hospital on Tuesday.
She left the UK a decade ago to sail around the world with her family and joined the crew of the Germania Nova last year.
She wrote about her experiences on her flutingtootingbethany blog with the motto “Live life for today, you never know what tomorrow will bring”.
A GoFundMe page set up to help arrange her funeral described Bethany as “a generous person and a ray of sunshine who brought laughter and music into the lives of those she met”.
Her mother Sarah is currently in Trinidad, her father Dave in the Netherlands and brother Bryn in Antigua, according to the page.
By last night the fund had raised more than £9,500 to help “alleviate a portion of their financial stress, so they don’t have to worry about the costs of being together to lay Bethany to rest”. Niall Robinson, partner at Hill Robinson Yacht Management which charters the Germania Nova, said: “We are desperately sad to confirm that a tragic accident has occurred leading to the fatality of a crew member.
“Her next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are with the family, friends and fellow crew members at this very difficult time.”
He added: “We and the owners are doing everything possible to support the family and friends and of course an immediate investigation is already under way.”