by Jan Thom

A sailor broke down and wept as he told an inquest how he had to abandon his friend who had drowned when their dinghy capsized off Whitstable.

Yacht club member Ezio Fragomeni had taken Luca Marchesin (pictured) out to teach him to sail but the day ended in tragedy.

Both men were forced to swim to shore in darkness when their boat capsized and a mobile phone which could have been used to raise the alarm became water-logged.

But 44-year-old Mr Marchesin drowned despite his friend’s valiant efforts to save him.

The tragedy unfolded on August 14 last year when Mr Fragomeni, 46, a member of Whitstable Yacht Club, invited Mr Marchesin, a photographer who lived in Grenville Place, London, to sail with him.

He told the hearing at Canterbury that conditions were perfect for the outing and he planned to teach Mr Marchesin how to sail, sticking to water in front of the club. They set off just before high water at 3pm, both wearing life jackets. They decided to sail closer to the wind farm and were within 500 metres of the turbines when they stopped to eat lunch.

But as they tried to make their way back, the wind dropped and the men were forced to row.

Mr Fragomeni said: “We started to row towards Herne Bay, the wind picked up again and we sailed close to Herne Bay beach, passing the pier at around one hour before sunset at 8.30pm.

“I had an idea the wind was coming from Whitstable so it was not possible to go back and I decided to try and stay by the beach.”

He said the wind changed and was blowing from the south west, he managed to point towards Whitstable Harbour and the boat was travelling at a good speed. The dinghy continued towards Whitstable but had to pass the harbour to tack back to land.

“We were not far from the shore and could see the yacht club, but we could not turn in the wind. We passed the club, turned and came back which is when the boat capsized. It wasn’t a dramatic capsize, it could have been a strong blow of wind,” he said.

The sun had almost set when the dinghy flipped over. Mr Fragomeni’s first attempt to right it was successful and Mr Marchesin battled to scoop water from the boat, but the dinghy keeled over twice more and the mast became stuck. They battled for more than an hour to right the boat.

Mr Fragomeni said: “We were unable to move. I asked Luca if he minded swimming to shore, it was not an issue, the water was still warm.”

He said he tried to rip two pieces of board from the dinghy to use us float aids but by now the boat was totally submerged.

They passed an orange buoy which Mr Fragomeni believed indicated they were not far from shore. Mr Marchesin swam using breast stroke, while Mr Fragomeni was on his back.

“I was much faster than Luca, I was pushing him to help him make less effort, I was afraid of hypothermia. I was talking to him and making jokes. I realised he was tiring and asked him if he was OK.

"I said let’s swim together on our backs, Luca hugged me but didn’t reply. He looked like he was very drunk, more like a doll.

“I tried to take him to the beach using all my strength,” he said.

He thought he saw the outline of a boat and headed towards it hoping he could get Mr Marchesin out of the water.

He said: “I touched his hand, it was stiff and white, I think he was gone. I shook him and called him. I felt really tired, I just let him go and tried to get back to the beach. I would not have left him while he was alive.”

Mr Fragomeni managed to crawl ashore below Admiralty Walk, Seasalter, in the early hours and banged on the door of Laurie Cothier in Joy Lane who alerted emergency services. He was treated for hypothermia and a full scale search was mounted for Mr Marchesin.

His body was recovered by Whitstable fisherman Chris Attenborough at the entrance to Whitstable Harbour at 4am on August 15. He was still wearing his life jacket.

Mr Fragomeni said he had been sailing since he was eight and had become a member of Whitstable Yacht Club (pictured left) in March 2011. The two men had been introduced by a friend who was Mr Marchesin’s boss at clothing retailer Joseph in London.

A post mortem revealed Mr Marchesin died from drowning and tests showed only a very small trace of alcohol and an insignificant level of Tramadol in his liver. There was no evidence of Mr Marchesin having suffered any violence.

Coroner Rebecca Cobb recorded a verdict of accidental death.