Tribute to a good man Mike Claudatos

Mike's death in the weekend shocked and dismayed the seafood industry - he has had a life long association with the industry through his family company Starfoods.

http://www.starfoods.co.nz/index.htm


A few people have asked me if he was involved in the scampi stuff -

So just to ensure that no-one starts any conspiracy theories, the answer is not really but he was very interested in it. He had strong views on the impact scampi trawlers were having on the seabeds. He was keeping an eye on how events were unfolding.

He will be sadly missed by the inshore seafood industry.

Regards to his family.


http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3783357&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=


Sailor dies after yacht flips01.09.2008
by Michele McPherson
Tauranga waters claimed the life of a yachtsman yesterday when a journey from Gisborne turned to tragedy about 20km off Mount Maunganui Main Beach.
Michael Claudatos, 52, and regular crewmate Warren Clark, 49, both from Napier, were sailing the 12-metre yacht, Time To Burn, to Tauranga, when they got into difficulty about 5.5km off Motiti Island.
Mr Claudatos was found dead near the yacht.
The men managed to set off the yacht's emergency locator beacon at 5.20am.
"The yacht lurched to its side before tipping portside, causing the mast to flounder in the water.


The yacht stayed like this for about half an hour, allowing the occupants to work through emergency protocols," said Tauranga Sergeant Wayne Lambert.
"Eventually the one metre swell swamped the main sail causing the yacht to completely capsize."
The yacht was spotted from the air, overturned and missing a keel.
When the Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard boat, TECT Rescue, arrived Mr Clark was found uninjured and clinging to the upturned yacht, while the body of Mr Claudatos was found in the water about 200m away.
Mr Lambert said Mr Claudatos had struggled with his life jacket, before becoming overwhelmed.
"Whether it was through drowning or a heart attack will be established at a post mortem," Mr Lambert said.
He said sea conditions were not rough and the weather was mild.
Coastguard incident manager Brian Palmer said it did not appear the yacht had hit anything and it was not yet known how the keel had been lost.