Crown Court - The Wrecking of the Tedmar (1974) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Crown Court: the gripping courtroom drama from the 1970s and 1980s.  The Tedmar, a boat owned by businessman Edward Blaney, was wrecked at sea after apparently running into mechanical difficulties and bad weather. Blaney and his mistress Edwina Sheridan had to be rescued by another boat. However the insurance company representative Draxland refused to pay out, arguing that Blaney fabricated the claim and deliberately wrecked the craft. Blaney is now suing the company for the cost of his boat.  The Plaintiff is played by Victor Winding who appeared in the Doctor Who adventure The Faceless Ones. George Waring appeared in The Ice Warriors. Gerald Sim would find further fame as the Rector in "To The Manor Born".

Transcript

00:00:00Today in the Forchester Crown Court, the Yachtsman Insurance Agency is being sued by Edward Blaney

00:00:28for the sum of £25,000. Mr Blaney's boat, the Tedmar, was insured through them for this amount.

00:00:35Mr Michael Draxman, a marine surveyor, has advised them to repudiate this claim.

00:00:40The plaintiff, Mr Edward Blaney, is about to take the oath.

00:00:43Appearing, acting for him, is Mrs Dixon.

00:00:46And Mr Fry appears as counsel for the defendants, the Yachtsman Insurance Agency, and Mr Draxman.

00:00:55Your name is Edward Blaney?

00:00:57Yes.

00:00:57And you live at the Norfolk apartment building here in Forchester?

00:01:01That's right.

00:01:01Which number?

00:01:03It doesn't have a number.

00:01:04Oh?

00:01:05I have the penthouse.

00:01:07Have you lived there long?

00:01:08Since the Norfolk was built, about two and a half years ago.

00:01:11Do you own the penthouse?

00:01:13No, I rent it.

00:01:14How much does it cost you annually?

00:01:17£1,500 rental, £500 for portridge and services.

00:01:21And were you the owner of a twin-engine diesel cruiser called Tedmar?

00:01:25Until she was wrecked, yes.

00:01:27Will you describe the Tedmar to the court?

00:01:30Well, she was a golden boat, built in Dartmouth, 1964.

00:01:34A golden boat not built of gold, presumably.

00:01:37No, Your Honour.

00:01:38David Golden was the designer's name.

00:01:40He built several of them.

00:01:41Identical to yours?

00:01:44No, mine was a 50-foot version made of wood with 260 horsepower engines.

00:01:49Some of his others were larger, some smaller.

00:01:51But boats of quality, obviously worth a lot of money.

00:01:53Yes, luxuriously fitted out.

00:01:55What equipment did you have on board?

00:01:57Aides to navigation, I believe they're called.

00:02:00Ship to ship, ship to shore, radio.

00:02:02Valued at?

00:02:04New, about £500.

00:02:05What else?

00:02:07Radar.

00:02:08And how much did that cost?

00:02:10With installation, mine cost about £1,000.

00:02:12Then there was direction, finding, echo-sounding equipment, bits and pieces like that.

00:02:18How much would you say in all?

00:02:21About £2,250.

00:02:23Did you buy the boat new?

00:02:25No, I was the fourth owner.

00:02:27And when did you buy her?

00:02:281971.

00:02:30Was all its equipment on board?

00:02:32No, I installed the radar.

00:02:34But the rest was included in the price you paid for her?

00:02:37More or less, yes.

00:02:38How much did you pay for Ted Marr?

00:02:41£12,500.

00:02:43So for £12,500, you bought the Ted Marr and all her equipment,

00:02:47other than the radar set and a few bits and pieces?

00:02:50That's right.

00:02:51Was that expensive or cheap or what?

00:02:53Oh, no, it's a bargain.

00:02:55Do you know what she cost to build?

00:02:58Yes, I made inquiries.

00:02:59Ted Marr cost the original owner £16,400.

00:03:02And you bought her for £4,000 less.

00:03:06Now, would normal depreciation over seven years account for that?

00:03:09Oh, no, boats are like houses that go on increasing in value all the time.

00:03:13Then how did you buy her so cheaply?

00:03:15My Lord, that Mr Blaney got a bargain has already been stated.

00:03:17The reasons why seem hardly relevant.

00:03:19They are most pertinent, my Lord,

00:03:21but my client is claiming twice that sum as the real value of the boat.

00:03:25Yes, I agree.

00:03:27What is the answer, Mr Blaney?

00:03:29Well, people feel very strongly about boats, Your Honour.

00:03:31Either they love them or they loathe them.

00:03:33Really?

00:03:34Yes, it's true.

00:03:34No one feels indifferent to them.

00:03:37Unfortunately, the previous owner, who had just retired,

00:03:39had his dream about living on his boat in the Mediterranean.

00:03:42So he bought her, put his wife on board his crew, and they set off.

00:03:46Well, they got across the channel, all right,

00:03:48and most of the way down the Atlantic coast of France,

00:03:51when they ran into a storm,

00:03:53which for beginners like them can be terrifying.

00:03:57Anyway, they managed to make shelter,

00:03:58a little fishing port near Beritz.

00:04:01The wife got off and swore she'd never set foot back on board again,

00:04:04and her husband would make his choice.

00:04:07Well, my own wife, Marcia and myself,

00:04:09happened to be on holiday in Beritz.

00:04:10I saw the boat one day and got talking to the owner,

00:04:14agreed to take it off his hands for $12,500.

00:04:16What would you say was the real worth of the boat at the time?

00:04:19My lord, since Mr Blaney is not an expert witness,

00:04:21I object.

00:04:22What the plaintiff thinks the boat may have been worth is irrelevant.

00:04:25It's what he paid for it that matters.

00:04:27Certainly it has not been suggested that Mr Blaney was qualified

00:04:29to act as an expert witness.

00:04:32Very well, my lord.

00:04:34Having bought her, what did you do?

00:04:36I hired a professional skipper, a Frenchman in Beritz,

00:04:39to bring her back to England.

00:04:41I crewed to gain experience.

00:04:43And your wife?

00:04:44She drove the car back to England.

00:04:45You were not about to fall into the same trap

00:04:47as your unfortunate predecessor.

00:04:49No, your honour.

00:04:50And for the last three years,

00:04:52the boat has been kept in Fulchester Harbour.

00:04:54Yes.

00:04:55Did you use her much?

00:04:56Oh, yes.

00:04:57Trips across the Channel,

00:04:58long weekends, holidays,

00:05:01chuntering about locally.

00:05:03It's also a good venue for business meetings.

00:05:05I could take a prospective client off for a day's fishing.

00:05:08Mr Blaney, what is your business?

00:05:11Plant hire, your honour.

00:05:12Equipment for construction sites and such kind of endeavour.

00:05:16Yes, your honour.

00:05:17I apologise for my oversight, my lord.

00:05:20There's no need to apologise, Mrs Dixon.

00:05:24When you bought the boat,

00:05:26what did you do about insurance?

00:05:28I had the skipper arrange temporary insurance

00:05:30in Beritz to cover the journey back.

00:05:32For how much?

00:05:33Well, I left it to him.

00:05:34He took one up for $15,000.

00:05:36And what arrangements did you make

00:05:38when you arrived home?

00:05:39Well, I contacted the commodore of the yacht club

00:05:41for advice,

00:05:42and he put me on to the defendants.

00:05:44And how much did you insure the boat for?

00:05:47Well, I stuck to the skipper's original figure.

00:05:49He was a professional.

00:05:50£15,000?

00:05:51Yes.

00:05:52But two and a half months ago,

00:05:53I raised it to £25,000.

00:05:56Really?

00:05:58Well, that seems quite a jump.

00:05:59£10,000.

00:06:00Well, no, not really.

00:06:01When you consider the increase in costs,

00:06:04Ted Murrow cost at least £30,000 to replace today.

00:06:07You're saying that it would literally cost

00:06:09twice as much today

00:06:10if you were to build it now?

00:06:12Yes, Your Honor.

00:06:13Hmm.

00:06:14But you reinsured her for £25,000?

00:06:18Yes.

00:06:19I consider that was a fair price.

00:06:21Which was accepted by the defendants?

00:06:23Lord, that question is ambiguous

00:06:24and quite unhelpful.

00:06:26Yes, indeed.

00:06:27It is.

00:06:29Very well, my Lord.

00:06:30Did the defendants accept the insurance?

00:06:34Yes.

00:06:34Well, I mean, they took the money, didn't they?

00:06:36Did you discuss the value of the new insurance

00:06:38with the defendants?

00:06:39Yes.

00:06:40There was some disagreement?

00:06:42Yes, they thought at £25,000,

00:06:44I was overvaluing the boat.

00:06:46How was it resolved?

00:06:47Well, they gave me the policy.

00:06:49I have it.

00:06:50£25,000 in black and white.

00:06:53I would now like to turn to the events

00:06:55of September the 8th, 1973.

00:06:58You took the Ted Mar to sea that day?

00:07:01Yes.

00:07:01Were you alone?

00:07:03No.

00:07:05Edwina Sheridan was with me.

00:07:07Who is she?

00:07:07She's a friend of mine.

00:07:09You say mine, not ours.

00:07:11Didn't your wife know her?

00:07:13Yes, she met her once, but...

00:07:16Yes, Mr Blaney?

00:07:17Well, she was my mistress.

00:07:19I see.

00:07:22Would you please describe the weather conditions?

00:07:25Oh, it was a bit blustery with clear patches.

00:07:27The Met report was deterioration from the south-west to 4.6.

00:07:324.6?

00:07:33Yes, Your Honour, on the Beaufort weather scale.

00:07:35As Your Lordship knows, the Beaufort scale,

00:07:37which goes from 1 to 12, describes 4.6 as follows.

00:07:42Wind speed between 22 and 27 knots,

00:07:45described as a strong breeze with large waves about 9 feet high.

00:07:49In fact, not very good weather.

00:07:51No, my Lord.

00:07:52Thank you, Your Honour.

00:07:55With such a forecast, why did you go to sea?

00:07:58Well, I knew a sheltered spot, Bretton's Cove,

00:08:01and I wanted to be alone with Miss Sheridan.

00:08:03The weather conditions didn't worry you?

00:08:04Oh, no.

00:08:05Ted Mark would easily stand up to them.

00:08:07What time did you leave harbour?

00:08:101,100 hours.

00:08:11And how long did it take to reach Bretton's Cove?

00:08:14Well, normally an hour,

00:08:15but I lost an engine en route, so it took an hour and a half.

00:08:18Lost an engine?

00:08:20An engine broke down, Your Honour.

00:08:21Well, it wasn't exactly the engine.

00:08:23It was the coupling between the engine and the prop shaft sheared.

00:08:27Should you not have turned back?

00:08:29No, I had another perfectly good engine.

00:08:30I wasn't worried.

00:08:32And you arrived at Bretton's Cove without further incident?

00:08:34Yes.

00:08:35How long did you stay there?

00:08:37Two hours.

00:08:38And what was the weather like?

00:08:40Well, lumpy, but we were running before it.

00:08:42You were going in the same direction as the waves?

00:08:45Yes.

00:08:46I see.

00:08:46And then what happened?

00:08:48Well, about halfway back,

00:08:50the water pump for cooling the engine broke down.

00:08:52The second engine?

00:08:53Yes.

00:08:54So I had to switch the engine off to prevent it overheating.

00:08:56So now, both engines are out of action and the tedmar is drifting.

00:09:01Yes.

00:09:01What did you do?

00:09:02Well, what I had to do, take the water pump from the first engine...

00:09:05The one with the sheared coupling?

00:09:07Yes.

00:09:08And fit it to the second engine.

00:09:10Now, how long should a job like that take?

00:09:11The Lord, the witness, is being asked for an expert opinion.

00:09:15My Lord, in this instance, as a man connected with machinery,

00:09:18as the owner of a plant hire company,

00:09:20and as an experienced sailor,

00:09:23I feel my client can be regarded as an expert

00:09:25and express a considered opinion.

00:09:27Yes, indeed.

00:09:28What is the answer?

00:09:30Well, it would depend on the circumstances.

00:09:33In a workshop, 15 minutes, top whack.

00:09:35But the engine room was cramped.

00:09:37The second engine had been running for about an hour,

00:09:39so it was half an hour, so it was very hot as well.

00:09:43The engine or the engine room?

00:09:44Both.

00:09:45And the boat was rolling heavily.

00:09:48Was that dangerous?

00:09:50No, but it was uncomfortable.

00:09:52Anyway, I figured I could do the job in an hour,

00:09:53so I started work.

00:09:55What happened next?

00:09:57Well, then Miss Sheridan said that a boat was hailing us.

00:10:00So I went up on deck,

00:10:01and there was this coastal freighter lying off.

00:10:04She asked if we were in trouble and whether we'd like a tow.

00:10:07What did you reply?

00:10:08I said I had a bit of a problem, but I could sort it out.

00:10:11So the coaster left you there and went on its way?

00:10:15Yes.

00:10:16I made the wrong decision.

00:10:17I should have accepted that tow.

00:10:19But I didn't.

00:10:21I lost the best boat I ever owned.

00:10:23I trust I need not remind you that you are still on oath, Mr Blaney.

00:10:41Yes, Your Honor.

00:10:42Very well.

00:10:45You said the coaster sailed off and you went back to work.

00:10:49That's right.

00:10:50What happened then?

00:10:52Well, soon afterwards, the weather began to deteriorate.

00:10:54The boat was leaping about wildly,

00:10:56and the job was taking much longer than I'd anticipated.

00:10:59How much longer?

00:11:00Well, I'd been at it about an hour and a half.

00:11:02Then I had one pump off,

00:11:04and the other one about halfway off.

00:11:06Halfway through the job, in fact?

00:11:08Yes.

00:11:09What were your feelings at this point?

00:11:11Well, I was scared.

00:11:12I was now blowing a good 4.7.

00:11:144.7 on the Beaufort scale, my lord,

00:11:17is a near gale with winds of between 28 and 33 knots

00:11:22with waves of 13 feet.

00:11:24Yes, yes, Mrs Dixon.

00:11:28What did you do?

00:11:30Well, I thought I'd phone up the Coast Guard

00:11:32and ask them to get the lifeboat to tow us in.

00:11:34And did you?

00:11:35No, because just then the Major showed up.

00:11:37The Major?

00:11:38Major Geoffrey Trussler.

00:11:40He's a member of the Yacht Club

00:11:41and owns a 28-foot bastion.

00:11:44Might I inquire what a 28-foot bastion is?

00:11:47It's a type of boat you're on.

00:11:49It's very sturdy and solid, with a good engine.

00:11:51Yes.

00:11:53Then what happened?

00:11:54Well, he called up on the radio to ask what the trouble was.

00:11:57On the ship-to-ship radio?

00:11:59Yes.

00:12:00And when I told him, he offered to take us in tow.

00:12:03Well, I accepted.

00:12:04He was there, on the spot.

00:12:05It seemed the obvious thing to do.

00:12:07And his boat was capable of it?

00:12:09Yes.

00:12:10So he attached a line.

00:12:12We set off.

00:12:13Do you know your marine law, Mr Blaney?

00:12:16About accepting a line?

00:12:18Salvage.

00:12:19Yes, that's the first lesson a yachtsman learns.

00:12:21What is your understanding of the relevant law, Mr Blaney?

00:12:25Well, Your Honor, if your boat breaks down

00:12:27and another boat offers to take you in tow,

00:12:30fix the price, preferably in writing, before accepting a line.

00:12:33Because if you don't,

00:12:34you may have to pay out half the value of your boat in salvage money.

00:12:37Yes, thank you.

00:12:40Proceed, Mrs Dixon.

00:12:42Did you agree to pay Major Trostler a fee?

00:12:44Yes, over the radio.

00:12:47He didn't want to accept anything at first, but I insisted.

00:12:49So we agreed on £500.

00:12:52Over the radio?

00:12:52Yes.

00:12:53Yes.

00:12:53Now, can a conversation on a ship-to-ship radio telephone be overheard?

00:12:58Oh, yes, as was, by the Coast Guard.

00:13:00They offered to come out.

00:13:01To bring you in?

00:13:02Yes, but we declined.

00:13:03The bastion could do the job.

00:13:05Or so we believed.

00:13:07Had the lifeboat come out, would you have been required to pay salvage?

00:13:10Oh, yes.

00:13:12Lifeboats can't charge for rescuing lives,

00:13:14but they can for rescuing property.

00:13:15And had you accepted a line from the coaster,

00:13:18would you have been required to pay salvage money?

00:13:20Oh, very definitely.

00:13:21Agreeing a fee on the spot, as you did with Major Trostler?

00:13:23I doubt if I'd been lucky enough to do that.

00:13:26The price has to be fixed with the owners, not the captain.

00:13:29Does that mean it would have to be negotiated after the tow?

00:13:31Yes.

00:13:32And it would almost certainly have been the full whack.

00:13:35Half the value of the boat.

00:13:36Did this influence your decision not to accept a tow from the coaster?

00:13:40Oh, no, not at all.

00:13:41As I said, I thought I could do the job.

00:13:43But now you couldn't, and so you accepted Major Trostler's offer.

00:13:47Yes.

00:13:48But the second law of salvage is no cure, no pay.

00:13:52No cure, no pay.

00:13:53In other words, Major Trostler would have needed to bring your boat into harbour

00:13:56to collect his £500.

00:13:58Yes.

00:13:59But eventually we had to abandon Tedmar.

00:14:02Why?

00:14:03Well, she was becoming unmanageable in the heavy seas and the high winds.

00:14:06Had the storm increased again?

00:14:08Oh, yes, it was blowing a gale.

00:14:10We were only making about two to three knots,

00:14:12and the wind was threatening to drive us onto Pastors Rocks

00:14:14about three miles from the harbour entrance.

00:14:17Also, the weight of my boat was threatening to tear the Major's boat apart.

00:14:21So what did you do?

00:14:22Well, we decided to abandon Tedmar and jump for it.

00:14:26From one boat to another?

00:14:27Oh, no, that wouldn't have been possible.

00:14:29A collision at sea would have done for both of us.

00:14:32No, we put on our life jackets.

00:14:33The Major floated back a line.

00:14:34I attached the line to Edwina, and she jumped into the sea.

00:14:39Then I cast off the tow rope and jumped in after her.

00:14:42The Major hauled us up on board, and we made it back to port.

00:14:47And what happened to Tedmar?

00:14:49Well, she went aground on Pastors Rocks.

00:14:52Got pounded to smithereens.

00:14:53What did you do when you got back to the marina?

00:14:58I went to the yacht club and phoned the defendant to file my claim.

00:15:04When you made your claim, was it correct in every particular?

00:15:07No, I'm afraid not.

00:15:09In what way was it inaccurate?

00:15:11Well, I said I was the only one on board, which was virtually true for all the help that Edwina could give me.

00:15:16Why did you make that statement?

00:15:18Well, I was trying to protect my marriage.

00:15:21And the claim has not been paid?

00:15:23Well, I wouldn't be here if it was.

00:15:25Have you been given a reason for the refusal to pay?

00:15:28Yes, they said I did it deliberately.

00:15:31Wrecked your own boat?

00:15:32Yes, to get the 25,000 quid.

00:15:34And even then they said it was only worth 17,000, although they'd given me a policy for 25,000.

00:15:39Mr Blaney, did you wreck your boat deliberately?

00:15:42No, of course not.

00:15:43That's an absurd suggestion.

00:15:44As if I'd risked my life like that, let alone somebody else's.

00:15:48Look, they're just trying to get off the hook.

00:15:50I did not do it deliberately.

00:15:52Thank you, Mr Blaney.

00:15:53I have no further questions.

00:15:58Tedmar.

00:15:59Funny name for a boat, that, Mr Blaney.

00:16:01What did you call Tedmar when you bought her?

00:16:04No, um, Hippocompe.

00:16:06Hippocompe.

00:16:06That's French for seahorse, isn't it?

00:16:08Yes.

00:16:09Does Tedmar have any significance as a name?

00:16:11Well, my Christian name is Edward, and my wife's is Marcia.

00:16:15Oh, Ted and Mar, linking the two names together.

00:16:18What a nice gesture.

00:16:20Well, now, let's see what your boat was equipped with.

00:16:23Radar, was it?

00:16:25Yes.

00:16:26And let's see what else you had on board.

00:16:27Radio, telephone, echo, sounder, direction, finding equipment.

00:16:31Bits and pieces like that, you said.

00:16:33I wonder if you could be more specific about these bits and pieces.

00:16:37Well, a dinghy, life jacket, life belts, things like that.

00:16:40And that's a complete inventory.

00:16:42You've not forgotten anything.

00:16:44Well, oh, no, I have forgotten something, I'm afraid.

00:16:48Oh, yes, what did you forget?

00:16:49The stabiliser.

00:16:50I see.

00:16:51And what does a stabiliser do?

00:16:53Well, it cuts down the roll in heavy weather.

00:16:54So, if a boat is rolling 30 degrees either side of the vertical,

00:16:58which would be a 60-degree roll,

00:17:00what would one of these stabilisers reduce that to?

00:17:0310 degrees either side of the vertical.

00:17:05And did the Tedmar have a stabiliser when you bought her?

00:17:08No, I fitted one for my wife's sake, really.

00:17:10And what does one of these devices cost?

00:17:12Oh, about 800 quid.

00:17:14800 pounds, that's a lot of money, almost as much as a radar set.

00:17:17About.

00:17:18Rather an expensive oversight in your inventory of bits and pieces, wouldn't you say?

00:17:22Well, no, not really.

00:17:23As I said, I installed it for my wife.

00:17:25I rarely used it.

00:17:26Not even in very bad weather?

00:17:28Well, it would depend on the relation of the course that you're steering

00:17:30to the way the seas are running.

00:17:32For example, on September the 8th, going to Bretton's Cove,

00:17:34the sea was on the nose.

00:17:37And coming back, it was up the stern.

00:17:39The stabiliser wouldn't have helped.

00:17:40It cuts down the roll, not the pitch.

00:17:43Does it?

00:17:44Yes.

00:17:46Now, Mr. Plainer, have you ever thought of selling your boat?

00:17:49It's a saying that all boats are for sale if the price is right.

00:17:52Well, have you ever tried to sell yours?

00:17:55No, not seriously.

00:17:56So you would describe as frivolous a notice you put up on the club board

00:17:59to the effect that Ted Mow was on offer for 25,000 pounds.

00:18:03I just wanted to see if I'd get any bids.

00:18:06Oh, did you?

00:18:07No.

00:18:08Have you ever offered the boat for sale in any of the yachting magazines?

00:18:11A couple of them, yes.

00:18:12And what response did you get?

00:18:14Three inquiries asking for more particulars.

00:18:17Did you reply to them?

00:18:18Yes.

00:18:18Yes, and yet you say that you weren't serious about selling up.

00:18:21That's right.

00:18:23How much did it cost you to place these adverts in the yachting magazines?

00:18:26Ten quid.

00:18:27Well, wouldn't you say it was rather a waste of time and money if you weren't serious?

00:18:31No, as I said, I was just curious.

00:18:33If I'd been really serious, I'd have put it through an agent.

00:18:35Oh.

00:18:37Is plant hire a good business to be in, Mr. Blain?

00:18:40Is it lucrative?

00:18:42Lord, the question is wholly irrelevant to these proceedings.

00:18:44Well, not since £25,000 lie in the balance.

00:18:48Any inquiry about the plaintiff's finances is highly relevant.

00:18:51Yes, I agree.

00:18:53You may answer, Mr. Blainey.

00:18:55Well, it can be very good, yes.

00:18:58Hmm.

00:18:59How many years have you been in the business?

00:19:01Ten.

00:19:02You started it?

00:19:03Yes, it's my own business.

00:19:04What kind of equipment do you hire out?

00:19:07Oh, tractors, compressors, cement mixers, generators, that sort of gear.

00:19:12Yes, what's their book value?

00:19:16Well, about £185,000.

00:19:18Which you own?

00:19:19Yes.

00:19:20Outright?

00:19:21Don't be ridiculous.

00:19:22I doubt if counsel for the defence is intending to be that, Mr. Blainey, a straightforward answer, if you please.

00:19:29Yes, Your Honour.

00:19:30They're on finance, but through a banking trust company.

00:19:34How frequently do you make payments?

00:19:36Monthly.

00:19:36How much?

00:19:37Nearly £3,000.

00:19:39A month?

00:19:40Yes.

00:19:40Do you know of a company called K&N Construction Limited?

00:19:46I knew them.

00:19:46They went bust.

00:19:47When did that happen?

00:19:48Mid-May.

00:19:49Were you financially involved?

00:19:50Yes.

00:19:51They owe me £8,500.

00:19:52Have you been paid any of it?

00:19:53Not yet.

00:19:54So with a monthly commitment of £3,000 on equipment alone, that must have been a serious blow.

00:19:58It was.

00:19:59But you managed to cover it?

00:20:01Yes.

00:20:01By realising some assets?

00:20:04No, I raised a loan.

00:20:05Oh, you raised a loan, I see.

00:20:07I just said so.

00:20:07Yes.

00:20:09From your bank?

00:20:10No.

00:20:11Wouldn't that be the usual place to go?

00:20:13I was bumping my credit limit.

00:20:16Bumping your credit limit.

00:20:17That means you'd used up all your overdraft facilities.

00:20:20Yes.

00:20:21Your personal limit or your company's limit?

00:20:23Both.

00:20:24Hmm.

00:20:25So when K&N Construction went bankrupt, you were already in financial difficulties.

00:20:31Well, I wouldn't say that.

00:20:33Things were a bit tight, but that happens to everybody from time to time.

00:20:36But when K&N collapsed...

00:20:38Well, that's another story, of course.

00:20:39Yes, it hurt.

00:20:39Yeah.

00:20:40Well, now, with the bank out, how did you raise this loan?

00:20:43Was it, for instance, a personal loan from friends?

00:20:46No, it was through a financial brokerage house.

00:20:48Which one?

00:20:49Crown Finance Investments Limited.

00:20:52Crown Finance Investments.

00:20:55And you raised eight and a half thousand pounds from them?

00:20:57Yes, that's the amount I needed.

00:20:59That bank rate?

00:21:00More.

00:21:01How much is more?

00:21:03I'm paying 35% interest.

00:21:06Well, that's close on three thousand pounds a year.

00:21:09Yes.

00:21:10That's a very high rate.

00:21:12You don't have to tell me that.

00:21:14There's only meant to be a short-term bridging loan.

00:21:16Until you were paid back the money that K&N Construction owed you.

00:21:19That's right.

00:21:20Well, obviously, since you haven't received any of that,

00:21:22winding up their affairs has taken longer than you anticipated.

00:21:25That's right.

00:21:26Hmm.

00:21:27Well, now, your loan was arranged with Crown Finance Investments in June of last year.

00:21:31Now, that's a good year ago.

00:21:32So, your indebtedness at the present time must be in the region of...

00:21:36Eight and a half plus three years.

00:21:38Eleven thousand five hundred pounds.

00:21:40That's a very considerable sum.

00:21:43What security do they hold?

00:21:45Ted Marr.

00:21:47Your boat.

00:21:49Your boat is held as security for an eleven and a half thousand pounds loan.

00:21:54It's advertised on the club notice board and in the yachting magazines,

00:21:57and you still insist that you were not trying to sell her, really, Mr Blaney.

00:22:00I was not trying to sell her.

00:22:03Oh.

00:22:05Crown Finance Investments is...

00:22:07This is Exhibit One, we're not.

00:22:10Now, the chairman is Sir William Bender,

00:22:13and the directors are Frederick Fawfield, Matthew Atkins, Joseph Morgan, and Major...

00:22:17Major Geoffrey Trussler.

00:22:20Sir, is that by any chance the gentleman that rescued you?

00:22:24Yes.

00:22:25And was the loan arranged through him?

00:22:28Yes, it was.

00:22:29We were having a drink in the clubhouse one day,

00:22:31and I told him I needed some money on the short term.

00:22:34He said he'd see what he could do.

00:22:36A couple of days later, he phoned to say that he'd arranged it for me.

00:22:39And when your boat is foundering, he comes to the rescue again.

00:22:42Look, that was...

00:22:43It was sheer coincidence.

00:22:46I know perfectly well what you're trying to say.

00:22:48Of course you do, Mr Blaney.

00:22:50Insurance companies are all the damn same.

00:22:52They take your money, all right. That's okay, isn't it?

00:22:53Oh, yes, of course it is.

00:22:54But try getting a payout.

00:22:55That's another story, isn't it?

00:22:56The case of Blaney against the Yachtsman Insurance Agency and Draxman

00:23:20will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:23:26Today in Fulchester Crown Court,

00:23:41the Yachtsman Insurance Agency is being sued by Edward Blaney

00:23:44for the sum of £25,000,

00:23:47the amount of money for which his boat was insured through them.

00:23:50Mr Michael Draxman, a marine surveyor,

00:23:52has advised them to repudiate this claim.

00:23:55Mr Blaney has testified that his boat was insured through them.

00:23:56The boat's engine failed while on a trip to Breton's Cove

00:23:59with his mistress, Miss Edwina Sheridan.

00:24:02Having refused an offer to tow him back to Fulchester Marina

00:24:05from a passing ship,

00:24:06Mr Blaney finally accepted Major Geoffrey Trussler's offer of help.

00:24:10On the way home, the boat Tedmar sank.

00:24:13Counsel for the Defence have tried to establish

00:24:15that Mr Blaney and Major Trussler were acting in concert

00:24:18in order to defraud the Yachtsman Insurance Agency

00:24:21for the sum of their claim.

00:24:23My lord, my client wishes to apologise for his outburst.

00:24:28He asks your lordship's indulgence.

00:24:30The case has placed him under considerable strain.

00:24:32I trust there will not be a repetition.

00:24:35Now let's get on.

00:24:36You are still on oath, Mr Blaney.

00:24:47Yes, Your Honour.

00:24:48Let us now come to that fateful day, September the 8th,

00:24:52when you took Tedmar to sea on what was to be her last voyage.

00:24:56You say you were accompanied by a Miss Edwina Sheridan,

00:24:59whom you describe as your mistress.

00:25:01That's right.

00:25:02Had you known Miss Sheridan long?

00:25:04About a month.

00:25:05Where did you meet her?

00:25:07At the Yacht Club.

00:25:08There was a party one night.

00:25:09I met her then.

00:25:10And shortly after which she became your mistress?

00:25:13Yes, that's right.

00:25:13Now was September the 8th the first time

00:25:15that Miss Sheridan had been on board the Tedmar?

00:25:17Yes, it was.

00:25:19If you mean at sea.

00:25:20I mean exactly what I said, Mr Blaney.

00:25:22Was it the first time she'd been on board?

00:25:24In that case, no.

00:25:26She'd been on board several times.

00:25:27In the marina?

00:25:28Yes.

00:25:28But on this occasion you were resolved to go to Breton's Cove.

00:25:31Well, we both managed to get part of the day off.

00:25:33We wanted to make the most of it.

00:25:34Why bother?

00:25:35Why not stay in the marina and make the most of it there?

00:25:38We wanted to go to Breton's Cove.

00:25:41Now on the way to Breton's Cove,

00:25:43a coupling between one of the engines and the propeller shaft came apart.

00:25:47That's right.

00:25:48Nevertheless, you pressed on.

00:25:50In spite of losing an engine, in spite of the impending storm.

00:25:54That's right.

00:25:54To spend a few halcyon hours in Breton's Cove before heading back for Fulchester.

00:25:59Not a few.

00:26:00Two.

00:26:01On the way back, you described the weather as lumpy.

00:26:05Was the stabiliser working?

00:26:07No, it was a following sea.

00:26:08It wouldn't have helped.

00:26:10Oh.

00:26:11Then, the water pump on the other engine broke down,

00:26:14and so you had to replace it with the pump from the engine with the broken coupling.

00:26:17That's right.

00:26:18Yes.

00:26:19My lord, we have already been over this ground.

00:26:21My lord, my learnedy friend, may have been over this ground.

00:26:23I certainly haven't.

00:26:24As long as it is leading somewhere.

00:26:26Indeed it is, my lord.

00:26:27Then you may continue.

00:26:29Thank you, my lord.

00:26:30Now, you say that allowing for the heat of the engine and the size of the engine room,

00:26:35this job should have taken about an hour.

00:26:37Mm-hm.

00:26:38With or without the stabiliser working?

00:26:40Without.

00:26:40It wasn't switched on.

00:26:42Switched on?

00:26:42Then it worked independently of the engines.

00:26:45Yes, it's electrically operated.

00:26:46You mean it could have been switched on?

00:26:49Yes, but it would have drained all the juice in the batteries.

00:26:51I'm sorry, what was that?

00:26:53Used up a great deal of electricity, my lord.

00:26:56But if the stabiliser had been working,

00:26:58then the job could have been done more quickly,

00:27:00the boat's movement being reduced.

00:27:02Yes.

00:27:03But there'd be no point with her in changing over the pumps

00:27:05if there was no juice left in the battery to start the engines.

00:27:08That has it may, Mr Blainer.

00:27:10The fact is that you never did change over the pump.

00:27:12Well, no, I wasn't able to finish the job.

00:27:14Well, at this point,

00:27:17along comes a cargo ship which offers you a tow.

00:27:20But you declined.

00:27:21That's right.

00:27:22I told them I wasn't in any danger.

00:27:24Well, I find that hard to understand.

00:27:26You knew the weather was deteriorating,

00:27:28and you say that you were afraid to switch on the stabilisers

00:27:30for fear that the batteries would be too weak to start the engine,

00:27:32and yet you say that you didn't consider yourself to be in any danger.

00:27:36That's right.

00:27:37Hm.

00:27:37This conversation with the cargo ship,

00:27:40did you conduct it over the radio?

00:27:42No, loud hailer.

00:27:44Ah.

00:27:45And could the coastguards have overheard any of this conversation by the loud hailer?

00:27:49Of course not.

00:27:49My lord, I can't see where this line of questioning can take us.

00:27:52Now, how can my client possibly know

00:27:54what the coastguards might or might not have done?

00:27:56Surely the suggestion is that Mr Blainey avoided using the radio

00:27:59in case the coastguards did overhear.

00:28:02It seems quite a pertinent line.

00:28:04Now, let's get on with it.

00:28:06Thank you, my lord.

00:28:06Why did you use the loud hailer and not the radio, Mr Blainey?

00:28:10Look, I had nothing to hide.

00:28:12Anyway, he called me on the loud hailer first,

00:28:14so that's the way I replied.

00:28:15And then off she sailed.

00:28:18However, later on you did think that you were in danger.

00:28:21Yes, I've already said so.

00:28:22The storm was getting worse,

00:28:22and you were on the point of calling out the lifeboats.

00:28:25That's right.

00:28:26When, lo and behold,

00:28:27your friend and benefactor, Major Trussler, arrives on the scene.

00:28:31My lord, the words friend and benefactor are totally out of order.

00:28:34They are comment,

00:28:35and there's been no evidence to support them.

00:28:37The dictionary defines a benefactor as somebody who confers a benefit.

00:28:40That is to say,

00:28:42a kindness, favour, or advantage on another.

00:28:44Now, if to offer £8,500 as a loan to somebody in financial straits

00:28:48is not to be a benefactor,

00:28:50then I don't know what is, my lord.

00:28:52Similarly, the plaintiff has said that he was sitting in the bar

00:28:54conferring with Major Trussler over a drink

00:28:56and confiding his financial troubles to him.

00:28:58The dictionary also defines a friend as a confidant.

00:29:01Benefactor, Major Trussler most certainly was,

00:29:04but people are given to drink and confide in others than friends.

00:29:08Bar acquaintances, I think they're called,

00:29:10but all this is very unimportant, Mr Fry.

00:29:13Let's get on with it.

00:29:14Very good, my lord.

00:29:16Now, over the radio, Major Trussler offers you a tow,

00:29:20and this time you accept.

00:29:21That's right.

00:29:22After first insisting that he accept £500 as a salvage fee.

00:29:26That's right.

00:29:27Now, how were you proposing to pay this fee?

00:29:30You'd reached your credit limit with your bank,

00:29:32and you'd got an £8,500 loan from Major Trussler's company

00:29:35at 35% interest.

00:29:38Major Trussler wouldn't oppress me.

00:29:40I had to insist that he'd let me pay him anything.

00:29:43There's a sense of honour among yachting fraternity.

00:29:46I'm pleased to hear it.

00:29:48Tell me, Mr Blaney,

00:29:51can you remember what you were wearing

00:29:52when you got back to dry land?

00:29:55Well, jumper and slacks.

00:29:57After swimming for it.

00:29:58A trifle damp, were they?

00:30:00They weren't mine.

00:30:02Major Trussler loaned them to me.

00:30:03Oh, yes, and no doubt he'd lent some to Miss Sheridan as well.

00:30:06That's right.

00:30:07How very convenient for you all

00:30:08that he had such a wardrobe on board.

00:30:11Now, when you got back to the safety of the marina,

00:30:14what was the first thing you did?

00:30:16Well, I went to the clubhouse,

00:30:18to phone the defendant to file my claim.

00:30:21No, Mr Blaney.

00:30:21The first thing you did was to go to the bar

00:30:23and order a bottle of champagne.

00:30:25Oh, matter of fact, we did, yes.

00:30:27Why?

00:30:29Well, we were...

00:30:30we were glad to be alive.

00:30:32Really?

00:30:34You've never been in a small boat in a gale at sea, have you?

00:30:37You don't always like the fear, the panic.

00:30:41And then you've come through it, you reach shelter,

00:30:43you're on dry land and you're still alive.

00:30:45Yes, you bloody drink champagne.

00:30:47I have asked you once to moderate your language, Mr Blaney.

00:30:50I shall not ask you again.

00:30:52Well, I'm sorry, Your Honor.

00:30:53These landsmen are so smug, they've no idea what it's really like.

00:30:55I don't doubt that for a moment.

00:30:58Mr Fryer?

00:30:59So after enjoying this bottle of champagne,

00:31:03you phoned the defendant and subsequently filed your false claim.

00:31:06The claim was not false.

00:31:08The claim is true.

00:31:09I said I've lied about the number of people on board and why I did it.

00:31:13Oh, yes.

00:31:14Tell me, is Miss Sheridan still your mistress?

00:31:17No.

00:31:17Oh.

00:31:18When did the affair end?

00:31:20When we left the clubhouse, we thought it best we didn't see each other again.

00:31:23Oh, why did you think it best?

00:31:25Well, any scandal would be bound to hurt us, professionally and personally.

00:31:28Has it?

00:31:29Yes.

00:31:30Seen Major Trussler since then?

00:31:33Occasionally.

00:31:34Socially or professionally?

00:31:35Professionally.

00:31:36Not socially?

00:31:37No.

00:31:38You thought it best not to?

00:31:40We just haven't met up.

00:31:42In a year?

00:31:43Well, our common ground was a yacht club.

00:31:45When I lost Ted Ma, there was no point in me going there.

00:31:47Really, Mr Blaney, you must think me incredibly naive.

00:31:50Is it not the case that whilst drinking that bottle of champagne,

00:31:52you and your fellow conspirators agreed to go your ways to await the insurance payoff?

00:31:56No.

00:31:57No.

00:31:58That's not true.

00:32:00It's not true.

00:32:01No further questions, my lord.

00:32:03Do you wish to re-examine the witness?

00:32:05No, my lord.

00:32:06Well, you may leave the witness box, Mr Blaney.

00:32:12I call Miss Edwina Sheridan.

00:32:18What is your name?

00:32:19My real name or the name I use?

00:32:22Both.

00:32:23My real name's Alice Haggerty.

00:32:25My professional name is Edwina Sheridan.

00:32:28And where do you live, Miss Sheridan?

00:32:29Eleven, Golden Muse, Torquay.

00:32:32I have my practice there.

00:32:33What practice would that be?

00:32:35I'm a qualified masseuse.

00:32:37Qualified in what sense?

00:32:39Well, I studied at the Institute of Kindness Therapy in Cheltenham,

00:32:42and I received my diploma in 1970.

00:32:45Have you ever worked in hospitals?

00:32:47Oh, yes.

00:32:48And do you still work in them?

00:32:50Occasionally, but most of my time is devoted to my private practice.

00:32:54Do your patients come to you or do you go to them?

00:32:57Both.

00:32:58Now, where did you practice before you established yourself in Torquay?

00:33:02Here, in Fulchester.

00:33:04And how long had you been in Fulchester before the Tedmar incident?

00:33:08About a year.

00:33:09So your practice was well established?

00:33:11Yes, I was very busy.

00:33:13Then why did you leave?

00:33:14Well, because a scandal became unavoidable

00:33:17when the insurance people refused to pay Edward's claim.

00:33:21I only hope the local paper at Torquay doesn't get to hear of this.

00:33:24Would it affect you professionally?

00:33:26At least it'd ruin me.

00:33:27Nowadays, the mere mention of the word masseuse can be misunderstood,

00:33:31which means, of course, I must be very discreet in my personal life.

00:33:35When did you first meet Edward Blaney?

00:33:38Well, one night at the yacht club.

00:33:40I was there with a group of friends, and Edward and I got talking.

00:33:43I found him very attractive.

00:33:46I still do.

00:33:47And he became your lover?

00:33:49Yes.

00:33:51It was always moments snatched here and there.

00:33:53It all seemed so sordid.

00:33:55It shouldn't have done.

00:33:57And then one day we had the chance to go to the cove together.

00:34:00And what should have been a beautiful day ended in disaster.

00:34:03It has been suggested that you told Mr Blaney about the cargo vessel.

00:34:08Yes.

00:34:09I was in the wheelhouse at the time,

00:34:11and I saw this ship coming towards us,

00:34:13and a man looking at us through binoculars.

00:34:16And then the man, I suppose it must have been the captain,

00:34:19started talking over a loud hailer.

00:34:21So I went below to fetch Edward.

00:34:23And when the captain offered to tow you into harbour,

00:34:25were you concerned when Mr Blaney refused?

00:34:27No.

00:34:28Oh, the sea was quite rough,

00:34:30but fortunately I don't suffer from seasickness,

00:34:32and Edward knew what he was doing,

00:34:34so I had nothing to worry about.

00:34:36But later, when the storm got worse?

00:34:38Oh, well, then I couldn't keep my balance or stand up.

00:34:40And I began to realise that for all Edward's efforts,

00:34:43he was fighting a losing battle.

00:34:45I was very afraid then.

00:34:47And what happened?

00:34:49Well, I was about to ask him to do something

00:34:51when he crawled out of the engine compartment

00:34:53and switched on the radio

00:34:54and said he was going to call for help.

00:34:56And then suddenly we saw Major Trussler's boat coming towards us,

00:35:00and there was the Major's voice booming out over the radio

00:35:03asking if he could do something.

00:35:05You've no idea how relieved I was.

00:35:08But it was short-lived.

00:35:10It's been suggested by my learned friend for the defence

00:35:12that you were part of a conspiracy

00:35:15and that the fate of Tedmar was no accident.

00:35:18Oh, that's rubbish.

00:35:20I've never been so frightened in all my life

00:35:22as when I jumped into that sea.

00:35:24And I hope I'm never as frightened again.

00:35:25Miss Sheridan, where was your practice in Fulchester?

00:35:44At four Bailey Cloisters.

00:35:45A very respectable address.

00:35:47Well, as I've explained before,

00:35:49in my profession it's not enough to be respectable.

00:35:52One must be seen to be respectable.

00:35:54Which would account for your expensive clothes and jewellery.

00:35:58I suppose your overheads must be pretty high.

00:36:01Well, my personal overheads are.

00:36:03I like the good things of life.

00:36:05But my professional overheads are minimal

00:36:07because my profession's there.

00:36:11If I had a course of kindness therapeutic treatment

00:36:14as a private patient,

00:36:16what would it cost me at your clinic?

00:36:18Well, that would entirely depend upon the treatment.

00:36:20There are several.

00:36:21Well, let's take the simplest, shall we?

00:36:23Well, a general toning-up massage for half an hour,

00:36:26that would cost three guineas if you came to my practice

00:36:29and five guineas if I came to you.

00:36:32Six to ten guineas an hour.

00:36:34Even so, you must work very hard for the good things in your life.

00:36:37I do. I always have done.

00:36:39For things that would be definitely beyond your means

00:36:41on, let us say, a hospital salary.

00:36:44Yes.

00:36:45Quite clearly, you prefer the risks of a private practice

00:36:47to the security of hospital routine.

00:36:50There's no such thing as security.

00:36:52Every moment of your life is a risk.

00:36:54I could walk out of here and get knocked down by a bus.

00:36:57Every day is a gamble.

00:36:58Which you are prepared to take.

00:37:01Yes.

00:37:03Among your clients in Fulchester,

00:37:05were there numerous, how shall I put it,

00:37:07distinguished members of the community

00:37:08in industrial, civic and social life?

00:37:12Yes.

00:37:13Was Major Geoffrey Trussler one of them?

00:37:17My Lord, it's the etiquette of my profession

00:37:19that I must never reveal a patient's name.

00:37:21My Lord, if I am to justify to the court

00:37:23my client's refusal to pay an insurance claim

00:37:26on the grounds of fraud,

00:37:27I must be allowed to show the links

00:37:28between the conspirators in that fraud.

00:37:30Yes, indeed, I agree. You are right.

00:37:32You must answer the question, Miss Sheridan.

00:37:36Yes, he was.

00:37:38Major Trussler was one of your clients.

00:37:40Was he by any chance a member of that group of friends

00:37:43with whom you were drinking in the club bar

00:37:44the night you met Mr Blaney?

00:37:46Yes, he was.

00:37:48Was it he who introduced you to Mr Blaney?

00:37:51Well, Miss Sheridan?

00:37:53Possibly it was, Geoffrey. I don't know.

00:37:55Hmm.

00:37:57About this cargo boat, when you saw it approaching,

00:37:59did you wave or do anything like that

00:38:02to attract its attention?

00:38:03No.

00:38:04No?

00:38:05No.

00:38:06Not even in those circumstances,

00:38:07drifting in a broken-down boat in heavy seas.

00:38:10Yes, well, Edward said he could mend the engine.

00:38:12I didn't doubt him.

00:38:13And for that reason,

00:38:14you made no sign of recognition to the ship?

00:38:16Yes.

00:38:17Or was it because it was the wrong ship?

00:38:20No.

00:38:22Yes, well, I've only one further question to ask you,

00:38:25Miss Sheridan.

00:38:25Miss Sheridan, when you got back after your swim

00:38:29for your champagne celebration at the club,

00:38:33many witnesses have confirmed that you were, in fact,

00:38:35wearing seaman slacks and an oversized sweater,

00:38:38but they also noted that your hair was dry and set.

00:38:41Yes, I tried it on the boat on the way back.

00:38:45It wasn't set, but I combed it out

00:38:48and there was a can of hair lacquer on board

00:38:49and, well, I simply used that.

00:38:52Are you asking the juror to believe

00:38:54that after plunging from the ted mine to heavy seas

00:38:56and being hauled aboard Major Trussler's boat,

00:38:59you were then able to dry out, comb and set your hair

00:39:01with a tin of lacquer you just happened to find on board?

00:39:04Whether people believe me or not, it's the truth.

00:39:08Well, I certainly don't believe you, Miss Sheridan.

00:39:11I suggest that you never so much as put a toe in the water.

00:39:14I suggest that you transfer it to Major Trussler's boat

00:39:15as soon as it arrived

00:39:16and that the plan to wreck the tedmar was then put into action.

00:39:20Well, you're wrong.

00:39:21Completely and utterly wrong.

00:39:25Well, we'll let the jury decide that, shall we?

00:39:28No further questions, my lord?

00:39:29Do you wish to re-examine the witness?

00:39:31No, my lord.

00:39:32Then you may leave the witness box.

00:39:34I called Geoffrey Trussler.

00:39:39How long have you lived in Fulchester?

00:39:41All my life.

00:39:42I was born there and I expect to die there.

00:39:45What is your profession?

00:39:47A family firm.

00:39:49Stationers, originally.

00:39:50My father moved it over to land.

00:39:53It was much more profitable.

00:39:54Then diversified.

00:39:56I'm on the board of several companies.

00:39:59And what is your association with the Yacht Club?

00:40:01I'm an active member and a committee man.

00:40:04I have my own craft.

00:40:05Have you known the plaintiff long?

00:40:08Three years, but since he bought tedmar and became a club member.

00:40:12One month bound to meet up.

00:40:14We did.

00:40:15Socially?

00:40:16No, until the day he fell foul of that K&N construction in a business that went bust.

00:40:22Would you tell the court what happened that day?

00:40:25Yes, well I stopped by for my customary nightcap.

00:40:29There he was sitting at the bar, very down in the mouth.

00:40:31I asked him what the matter was and he replied,

00:40:33The blighters have done me for eight and a half thousand.

00:40:37Or something like that.

00:40:38What did you reply?

00:40:40Well, I'd always liked him, so I said I thought we might help.

00:40:44We?

00:40:44Try to see him over the hump.

00:40:46We?

00:40:47Crown Finance Investments.

00:40:49Next day I talked to my fellow directors about it and they agreed.

00:40:52Was security required?

00:40:54We took a charge on the boat.

00:40:56This is a copy of the loan document, Exhibit 2, my lord.

00:40:59I see you've signed twice for the company and as guarantor.

00:41:09It's just a formality.

00:41:11Crown's first venture into boats.

00:41:14Lord knows I've been trying to get them interested for years,

00:41:17but as a show of faith in a new market I said I'd act as guarantor.

00:41:22I see.

00:41:24Do you remember the night the plaintiff met Miss Edwina Sheridan?

00:41:28Yes.

00:41:28Well, if you're about to ask me if I introduced her to him,

00:41:31I can't for the life of me remember.

00:41:33Why not?

00:41:34Well, I was three sheets to the wind, as we say.

00:41:37I beg your pardon, Major?

00:41:39Slightly squiffed, my lord.

00:41:41Drunk?

00:41:42Well, I...

00:41:43Yes, I suppose you might say so.

00:41:46And you cannot recall making any introductions?

00:41:49No introductions, no.

00:41:50I remember talking to them both when they were together,

00:41:53but that was later in the evening.

00:41:54Now, let's come to the 8th of September last,

00:41:58the day the Tedmar was lost.

00:42:00Now, that I remember vividly.

00:42:02What time did you leave the shelter of the harbour and go to sea?

00:42:06Well, it must have been about 1330 hours.

00:42:08Now, we know why the Tedmar went out to sea,

00:42:12and if I don't ask you this question, my learned friend will.

00:42:15Why did you go out to sea in such conditions?

00:42:19Nets.

00:42:21Nets?

00:42:22Fishing nets.

00:42:23Oh, you are a registered fisherman, then?

00:42:26Uh, actually, no.

00:42:29Well, fishing with a net is illegal, isn't it, unless you're registered?

00:42:33Yes, but, um...

00:42:35Well, mine's no competition for a real fisherman.

00:42:37It's a mere 250 yards.

00:42:39That's... that's not serious at all.

00:42:41No, it's just something to amuse myself with, really.

00:42:44Well, why were you off to tend to your nets in such bad weather?

00:42:47Save them.

00:42:48Storms play havoc with a net.

00:42:50I mean, you can never straighten them out again.

00:42:51All you can do is chuck them away.

00:42:53So you've gone to fetch them in?

00:42:55Yes, I should have gone earlier, but I had a business appointment.

00:42:58By the time I got there, they'd had it.

00:43:01So what did you do?

00:43:02Well, I abandoned them.

00:43:04And on the way back, you met up with Tedmar?

00:43:07Yes, and in those seas, it was lucky I did spot him.

00:43:11Well, they were big waves.

00:43:12You spoke to the plaintiff by radio and offered to tow him in?

00:43:16Yes.

00:43:17Now, what gave you the impression something was wrong?

00:43:20Oh, the way she was lying.

00:43:21I'd beam on to the sea, wallowing like a stuck pig.

00:43:25No one would do that by choice.

00:43:27Obviously, something was up.

00:43:29Eventually, you took the Tedmar in tow.

00:43:31Which, regrettably, we had to abandon.

00:43:35Not from the financial point of view, of course, but boats are very special, you know.

00:43:42They're like living things.

00:43:44They have individual characters.

00:43:45It's not easy to abandon them.

00:43:47In fact, it's heartbreaking.

00:43:48But she was becoming unmanageable on the tow, threatening to take out my stern.

00:43:55So they had to jump in and swim over.

00:43:58Fortunately, I had some spare gear on board.

00:44:00And some hair lacquer, we're told.

00:44:03I'll always have a lady or two on board in the summer.

00:44:06After a swim, handy stuff.

00:44:08Are you aware of the allegation that the Tedmar was deliberately wrecked, Major?

00:44:14Yes, I am.

00:44:15And it's absolutely preposterous.

00:44:17It's absurd.

00:44:18Thank you, Major.

00:44:20I have no further questions.

00:44:24Major Tressler, as an active member of the Yacht Club Committee,

00:44:29you are no doubt aware of the need to maintain good relations with everybody who uses the harbour.

00:44:34Yes, of course.

00:44:34And does this extend to the local fishing community?

00:44:38Yes.

00:44:39And yet you're asking us to believe that you had placed nets illegally in the area fished by the local fleet?

00:44:45So may I trifle.

00:44:47Well, I suggest you never had any nets at all, Major Tressler.

00:44:50I suggest that the whole story is pure invention to account for your rendezvous with the plaintiff in Breton's Cove.

00:44:55I deny that, sir.

00:44:58Major.

00:44:59Sir.

00:45:00Yes.

00:45:01What was your substantive rank when you left your regiment at the end of the war?

00:45:06Substantive?

00:45:07Lieutenant.

00:45:08No, but I had been an acting captain and an acting temporary major.

00:45:12But your substantive rank was that of Lieutenant.

00:45:15Yes.

00:45:16Do you know how many ranks one is customarily promoted with an honorary title?

00:45:20One.

00:45:21So you should, in fact, call yourself Captain, Trussler.

00:45:24Yes, but I told you I had been an acting temporary major.

00:45:28I had my own battalion for a time.

00:45:31Ah, this loan agreement made between yourself and the plaintiff.

00:45:36Yes, I didn't make it.

00:45:38I was acting for Crown of Finance.

00:45:40Well, and for the plaintiff.

00:45:41This is guaranteed all.

00:45:42As I've already explained that.

00:45:44Oh, yes, the act of faith.

00:45:46Now, I suggest that your fellow directors were most reluctant to enter on this loan with only the Ted Maher security

00:45:52and would only do so if you guaranteed the investment.

00:45:54Rubbish.

00:45:57Did you know that the Ted Maher was up for sale?

00:45:59I mean, you read the notice board in the club, I take it.

00:46:02Yes.

00:46:03So you knew it was up for sale?

00:46:04Well, I spoke to Blaney about it.

00:46:07I said, that's a bit drastic, isn't it?

00:46:09And he said he wasn't serious.

00:46:10He was just curious to see if he got any offers.

00:46:13Did he?

00:46:15Well, you'd better ask him that.

00:46:16It's his boat.

00:46:17In which you have an eight and a half thousand pound interest.

00:46:20Surely a quick sale would be to your advantage.

00:46:22Well, not mine personally.

00:46:24Crown, no doubt.

00:46:25But I knew how much he loved his boat.

00:46:27He didn't want to sell her.

00:46:29Just as I'd never want to sell mine.

00:46:31Unless, of course, the price was right.

00:46:35Major, among your many activities,

00:46:37were you ever on the committee of the local turf association?

00:46:42Yes.

00:46:43Well, why are you no longer a member of that committee?

00:46:46My lord, I must protest that Major Trussler's activities

00:46:48as a committee man for the turf association are quite irrelevant.

00:46:52Is it irrelevant?

00:46:53Lord, I have too much respect for this court to waste its time.

00:46:56I trust so.

00:46:59Answer the question.

00:47:01I resigned.

00:47:03When did you resign?

00:47:04At the end of last August.

00:47:06Why did you resign?

00:47:07Differences of opinion.

00:47:10Over what?

00:47:12Well, all sorts of things, really.

00:47:14Were you not forced to resign because of your inability to pay your gambling debts?

00:47:18Yes.

00:47:21And how much were those debts?

00:47:25One thousand three hundred pounds.

00:47:27But?

00:47:28No further questions, my lord.

00:47:31And have these debts been paid?

00:47:34Down to the last penny, my lord.

00:47:36Every last penny.

00:47:38Thank you, major.

00:47:39The case of Blaney against the Yachtsman Insurance Agency and Draxman

00:48:00will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:48:21The case of Blaney versus the Yachtsman's Insurance Agency

00:48:24over the latter's refusal to pay a £25,000 claim

00:48:28is entering its third and final day.

00:48:30The plaintiff's case is closed.

00:48:32The first witness for the defence has been called.

00:48:36What is your religion?

00:48:37The C of E.

00:48:37Take the Bible in your right hand and read aloud the words on the card.

00:48:40I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give

00:48:42shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

00:48:46What is your name, please?

00:48:47Michael George Draxman.

00:48:49And where do you live?

00:48:50At 29 Fortnum Road, Forchester.

00:48:52What is your business?

00:48:53I have an agency which incorporates a boat surveying service

00:48:56and boat insurance.

00:48:58Now, does surveying account for much of your business, Mr Draxman?

00:49:01Oh, the major part.

00:49:01I travel a lot.

00:49:02I go to other harbors to do surveys there.

00:49:04So your reputation extends beyond Forchester?

00:49:07Oh, far beyond.

00:49:08In a year, I can normally count on three, maybe four trips abroad.

00:49:12South of France, Gibraltar, Malta, all on business.

00:49:16Did you ever survey the Tedmar?

00:49:18No.

00:49:19Were you ever asked to examine her at all?

00:49:21No.

00:49:22Did you examine her before issuing the first insurance certificate?

00:49:25No, as a cursory glance, she was clearly worth 15,000.

00:49:27Three years ago?

00:49:29Yes.

00:49:29In your opinion, was she worth 25,000 pounds at the time she was wrecked?

00:49:33No, definitely not.

00:49:35A policy was issued by your clients for that sum?

00:49:38Yes, at Mr Blaine's insistence.

00:49:40Oh, you insistence?

00:49:40Do you mean that you had discussed the matter with him?

00:49:43Oh, at length.

00:49:44It's true that she was underinsured at 15,000.

00:49:47I felt that 17,000 was a much more realistic figure.

00:49:52Well, if you didn't examine her, on what did you base that opinion?

00:49:55Well, I spend a lot of my time in the boatyard,

00:49:57and when a boat is on the slip, I look at her.

00:49:59On the slip means out of the water, doesn't it?

00:50:02Yes.

00:50:03And as it's my job, I poke around, have a look at the hull.

00:50:07Unofficially?

00:50:07Out of interest.

00:50:08And what was your opinion of the Ted Maher's general condition?

00:50:11Not what it should have been.

00:50:13She wasn't bad, though, but there were things that needed doing to her.

00:50:17Such as?

00:50:18Play on the propeller shafts.

00:50:19Play?

00:50:20Yes, they were loose.

00:50:21They needed new bearings.

00:50:22Would that be an expensive job?

00:50:24Oh, 30 or 40 pounds.

00:50:26She was already out of the water.

00:50:28Anything else?

00:50:30Let me put it this way.

00:50:32Ted Maher needed what we call a bit of loving care.

00:50:36You're suggesting that the plaintiff didn't look after his boat?

00:50:39He did the jobs that needed to be done to get by on.

00:50:43In my opinion, he did not do the kind of jobs that could have brought the boat right up to scratch,

00:50:49and could well have made her worth the 25,000 pounds he insured her for.

00:50:52Yes, now, this interests me.

00:50:54If 17,000 pounds was a reasonable evaluation of the boat's worth, why did you arrange insurance for 25,000?

00:51:01Because Mr Blaney insisted.

00:51:03If he'd insisted on a million-pound cover, I'd have issued the policy, and taken the premium,

00:51:10then the insurers would never pay out a penny more than the boat is actually worth.

00:51:14Well, now, let's get this clear.

00:51:15Are you saying that even if they were not contesting the claim on grounds of fraud,

00:51:20the insurers would still not pay out 25,000?

00:51:23Yes, we'd have paid out 17,000 pounds, the figure I originally suggested to Mr Blaney.

00:51:30Now, you were aware that the plaintiff had put his boat up for sale?

00:51:34My lord, my client has already stated that his boat was not for sale.

00:51:37He was merely curious to see if there'd be any offers.

00:51:39Well, he certainly did offer it for sale.

00:51:43Go on, Mr Fry.

00:51:44Thank you, my lord.

00:51:45You knew about the notice on the board.

00:51:48Yes, I had hoped he'd accept the offer.

00:51:50Then I'd probably be asked to do the survey and see for myself precisely what she was like.

00:51:55But wouldn't that have meant putting her on the slip again?

00:51:58Yes.

00:51:59That's a point that's intrigued me.

00:52:02The plaintiff's decision to sell was made after he put her back in the water.

00:52:05Now, the obvious time to put her on the market was when she was on the slip.

00:52:10Yes.

00:52:11Well, now, let us turn to the events of September the 8th.

00:52:14What first aroused your suspicions about this claim?

00:52:17Oh, the blatant lie.

00:52:19About the number of people on board?

00:52:20Yes, we must have realised that it only needed one or two questions to be asked by me to ascertain the truth.

00:52:25I was surprised it didn't come to me and say I had my marriage

00:52:28or Miss Sheridan's reputation to protect.

00:52:33What can we do about this?

00:52:35Did anything else make you suspicious?

00:52:36Yes, I read the claim statement again many times.

00:52:42And all kinds of questions, many of which have been put in this courtroom, came to mind.

00:52:46Why should two relatively experienced yachtsmen allow themselves to get into such extremes as that?

00:52:54Why did he not accept the offer of the first tow?

00:52:58Why did he not use the stabiliser to cut down the boat's roll?

00:53:02A warm engine doesn't need much power to restart.

00:53:04One kick will do it.

00:53:06Why didn't they accept the lifeboat's offer to come out and help?

00:53:10Great.

00:53:11Did you act upon these suspicions?

00:53:12Well, after the storm, I went out looking for wreckage and evidence.

00:53:16Evidence of what?

00:53:17A legitimate claim.

00:53:19Or fraud.

00:53:20And what did you find?

00:53:21Well, the boat had been smashed to pieces.

00:53:23I doubt if I had recovered a piece of wood more than a couple of feet square.

00:53:27However, engines don't break up so easily.

00:53:29You recovered both the engines?

00:53:31Yes, we did.

00:53:31And what condition did you find them?

00:53:33The coupling between one engine and its propeller shaft was severed.

00:53:37Severed?

00:53:38How?

00:53:38It's impossible to say.

00:53:39It could have been accidental, equally so.

00:53:42It could have been deliberate.

00:53:43What else did you find?

00:53:44Well, the engine with the severed coupling had no water pump.

00:53:48On the other engine, the pump was half off.

00:53:51Consistent, in fact, with the plaintiff's claim?

00:53:53Yes, at first it would seem to be so.

00:53:56But on examination, I discovered that the remaining water pump functioned normally.

00:54:01Now, according to Mr Blaney's claim, that was the one which had failed.

00:54:07Did you find anything else?

00:54:08Yes, an open seacock.

00:54:11Would you tell the jury what a seacock is, please?

00:54:14Yes, it's like a tap attached to the inside of the hull below the water line.

00:54:18When it's open and the boat is in the water, the hull floods.

00:54:21When it's open and the boat's slipped, it lets the water drain out.

00:54:25How does a seacock open?

00:54:27Well, normally you move a lever through 90 degrees from shut to open.

00:54:31Now, what effect would flooding have on a boat experiencing the weather conditions that the Ted Niles in?

00:54:36Well, as she filled with water, she would naturally become heavier and move more sluggishly.

00:54:41Now, this would put an ever-increasing strain on the towing line and on the towing vessel.

00:54:46Until she had to be cut free and allowed to sink.

00:54:48Yes, well, wooden boats don't sink quite so easily as steel ones.

00:54:51However, in Ted Marr's case, I should say that the weight of her engines and the other gear would take her to the bottom.

00:54:58Quickly?

00:54:59No, not necessarily.

00:55:01If someone was intending to destroy a boat by putting it on the rocks,

00:55:04why would he take the trouble to sever couplings and change water pumps beforehand?

00:55:08Well, we'd automatically send a diver down to examine the wreckage.

00:55:11If someone were intending to do that, what would be the point of opening the seacock?

00:55:17Well, the additional weight of water in the boat would make it doubly certain that when she struck,

00:55:23the effects would be as devastating as they were.

00:55:26Now, you found an open seacock.

00:55:29Yes, which the plaintiff claimed was knocked open by the rocks.

00:55:34Is that possible?

00:55:36Yes, but highly improbable.

00:55:38Why do you say that? Are they difficult to open?

00:55:40Well, let me put it this way.

00:55:43You don't want them vibrating open or being accidentally kicked open.

00:55:47No, no, they don't open at all that easily.

00:55:50Mr Draxman, is it on your recommendation that the insurers are refusing to pay this claim?

00:55:55Yes, it is.

00:55:56And have you ever acted in a like manner before?

00:55:58Yes, and I was right.

00:55:59My lord, that is quite irrelevant to these proceedings.

00:56:02It is, I agree.

00:56:04No further questions, my lord.

00:56:10Mr Draxman, while I in no way dispute that you are an expert on boats,

00:56:15I am surprised that you should hold such authoritative opinions on a boat which you admit you never examined.

00:56:21You say you gave Ted Marr a cursory glance and insured her for £15,000.

00:56:29And then three years later, when she was on the slip, you looked at her again out of interest and assessed her value at £17,000.

00:56:37That is correct.

00:56:38What percentage of Ted Marr's value would her engines account for?

00:56:43Well, if new, about a third, say £6,000.

00:56:46But now, well, £3,000.

00:56:49But my client claims they are worth £5,500 and you never saw them.

00:56:54Well, I knew her year and her make from the insurance forms.

00:56:58And I know full well what those engines are worth today.

00:57:02In what condition?

00:57:03Average.

00:57:04Well, for all you know, Ted Marr's might have been in mint condition and that would have made them worth more, wouldn't it?

00:57:09Well, they might have been.

00:57:11But I doubt it.

00:57:12Why do you doubt it?

00:57:13Well, the general condition of the boat.

00:57:14As I've said, she needed some loving care.

00:57:18And this you deduced because the propeller shaft bearings needed replacing?

00:57:22Among other things.

00:57:24What other things?

00:57:25Rust on the deck fittings.

00:57:26Now, isn't rust a running battle with any boat?

00:57:29You must watch out for it.

00:57:31What else?

00:57:31Oh, peeling paint, re-varnishing that needed to be done.

00:57:34There are signs.

00:57:35You begin to spot them with experience.

00:57:37You look at a boat from the outside, you know she's like inside.

00:57:40Have you ever been wrong?

00:57:43I'm not infallible.

00:57:45So, like the rest of us, you can be wrong.

00:57:47I've just said so.

00:57:50Would you concede that the plaintiff knew his own boat better than you did?

00:57:53Well, in the sense that he was more familiar with it, yes, of course.

00:57:55But I don't concede he knew her worth better than I did.

00:57:59Estimating the value of boats is my job.

00:58:03Without even going on board?

00:58:05Well, I appraise a boat when I see her.

00:58:08Going on board won't move that figure up much.

00:58:11It may move it down a lot.

00:58:12Well, my plaintiff insisted that you insure his boat for £25,000.

00:58:18Did you warn him that in the event of a claim,

00:58:20you would not be prepared to pay out more than £17,000?

00:58:24No, I told him the amount of insurance he should carry.

00:58:26If he wanted to pay the premium on an extra £8,000,

00:58:29well, that was his business.

00:58:31You don't consider that unethical?

00:58:33Not at all.

00:58:34It's standard business practice in insurance.

00:58:38Really?

00:58:41May we cast our minds back to the initial damage to the boat?

00:58:45You say that you found a severed coupling.

00:58:47That is correct.

00:58:48Which could have been caused deliberately or accidentally.

00:58:51Yes.

00:58:52Well, let me ask you the question my learned friend did not.

00:58:56Of the two, which do you think it was?

00:58:58Oh, deliberate.

00:59:00Even though you have a 50-50 chance of being wrong?

00:59:02Well, on the face of it, that would appear to be possible.

00:59:05But when you look at the additional factors,

00:59:08the odds against all the events being coincidental lengthen incredibly.

00:59:15About the water pump.

00:59:17Now, suppose something, a bit of scale perhaps,

00:59:20or a piece of seaweed had clogged it.

00:59:23Is it not possible that with the pump half off,

00:59:27whatever it was blocking it could have been washed away?

00:59:29Yes, it's possible.

00:59:30But like the seacock being opened by the rocks, it's not probable.

00:59:33You see, Mr. Draxman, it occurs to me that you are denying my client's claim to settlement

00:59:39on the grounds of probabilities without a shred of tangible evidence.

00:59:43I'm confident, madam, that because of your experience,

00:59:46you can tell intuitively when a witness is lying.

00:59:49Allow me to know my profession.

00:59:50In the light of that remark,

00:59:54I trust you will consider my next questions very carefully before committing yourself.

01:00:00Are you married?

01:00:02Yes.

01:00:04And living with your wife?

01:00:05Yes.

01:00:07Were you ever a patient of Miss Sheridan?

01:00:10Yes.

01:00:11She, um, treated me for a strained shoulder for a time.

01:00:17And did you ever propose to Miss Sheridan that she might join you for luncheon after treatment?

01:00:22I may have done, out of courtesy.

01:00:24Did she ever accept?

01:00:26No.

01:00:28Were you at the yacht club on the evening the plaintiff took off, as it were, with Miss Sheridan?

01:00:33If you mean the night that he met her, yes, I was there.

01:00:37Are there, in your refusal to meet my client's legitimate claim, more than just professional reasons?

01:00:44I resent that.

01:00:44My lord, I protest most strenuously. That is quite gratuitous.

01:00:48Yes, I'm surprised at you, Mrs. Dixon.

01:00:50I have no further questions.

01:00:53Do you wish to re-examine the witness?

01:00:55No, my lord.

01:00:56Well, thank you, Mr. Draxman.

01:00:59I call Mrs. Edward Blaney.

01:01:02Mrs. Edward Blaney, please.

01:01:26Before the examination of this witness begins, I should like to make one point clear to you, members of the jury.

01:01:30In an action of this nature, that is to say, a civil case, it is quite in order for a wife to give evidence on the opposing side to her husband.

01:01:40I expect you know this is not usual in criminal cases.

01:01:45Come on, please, Mr. Fry.

01:01:46Thank you, my lord.

01:01:48You are Marcia Blaney, the wife of the plaintiff?

01:01:51Yes.

01:01:52And do you present yourself in this court as a witness for the defence of your own free will?

01:01:56I do.

01:01:58Where do you live, Mrs. Blaney?

01:01:59Marbella, Spain.

01:02:00How long have you lived there?

01:02:02Since last June, when I left my husband.

01:02:04You are legally separated from him?

01:02:07I'm divorcing him.

01:02:08On what grounds?

01:02:09On what grounds, do you think?

01:02:12I'm sick to death of his dirty little peccadillas.

01:02:15Peccadillas?

01:02:15His sordid little backstreet affairs.

01:02:18You are referring to his relationship with Miss Sheridan?

01:02:21She was just one of the tribe.

01:02:24Then these liaisons have been going on for some time.

01:02:26Years.

01:02:27But I did nothing about them for the sake of the boys' education.

01:02:31The boys?

01:02:32Our two sons, Robin and Alistair.

01:02:35They're at Tynmouth.

01:02:36Tynmouth?

01:02:37Public school.

01:02:38I knew how much a divorce would affect their schooling

01:02:41as well as their relationships with other boys.

01:02:44So I did nothing about it.

01:02:45Until last June?

01:02:47No.

01:02:48I started the divorce last October.

01:02:51As soon as all this happened.

01:02:53When the insurers refused to pay his claim on the grounds of fraud.

01:02:57I knew I had to dissociate myself from that man as quickly as possible.

01:03:02For the boys' sake as well as my own.

01:03:04Mrs Blaney, do you take an interest in your husband's business affairs?

01:03:09Of course I do.

01:03:11You must remember I've lived with him for 16 years.

01:03:15I've seen the way he treats people.

01:03:17And I know about his business affairs.

01:03:21The K&N Construction Company isn't the first difficulty he's found himself in.

01:03:27But it's the first one where he's been found out.

01:03:30Mrs Blaney, if you and your husband were separated last June,

01:03:34what reason do you think he would have for lying about Miss Sheridan

01:03:37being on board the Tedmar in September when he filed his claim?

01:03:40None at all.

01:03:42But he's a very clever man.

01:03:44He was probably playing a triple game.

01:03:48I imagine he tried to tell you he was protecting his marriage.

01:03:51Well, he knew that one wouldn't work.

01:03:54So then it looks like he's trying to protect that woman.

01:03:56But it wasn't that either.

01:03:59He lets himself be caught out in a little lie.

01:04:02And then he acts all contrite and embarrassed

01:04:04to try and convince you of the truth of the big lie he's really telling.

01:04:11I've seen him do it before.

01:04:13And more than once.

01:04:14Thank you, Mrs Blaney.

01:04:15No further questions, Milon.

01:04:16When you left your husband last June,

01:04:23was there any possibility of a reconciliation?

01:04:25None whatsoever.

01:04:26The marriage was over?

01:04:28Yes.

01:04:29Where were you on September the 8th?

01:04:31Marbella, Spain.

01:04:34A good thousand miles from Pastor's Rocks,

01:04:37where the Tedmar was wrecked.

01:04:38And yet, without any apparent hesitation,

01:04:39you accuse your husband of being guilty of fraud.

01:04:43I know him.

01:04:44Yes, so you've said

01:04:46how long had his peccadilloes been going on?

01:04:51Years.

01:04:53How many years?

01:04:55About six years.

01:04:57You can't say precisely.

01:04:59It could have been longer.

01:05:01Less?

01:05:03No.

01:05:05Do you live in a villa in Spain?

01:05:07Yes.

01:05:08Do you rent it?

01:05:09No.

01:05:11I own it.

01:05:13Oh, it's in your name?

01:05:14Yes.

01:05:15When did you acquire it?

01:05:17Five years ago.

01:05:19And how did you acquire it?

01:05:20It was a present.

01:05:22On my birthday.

01:05:23From whom?

01:05:25My husband.

01:05:27Who, for at least six years, you say,

01:05:30had been having affairs on the side.

01:05:32He bought the boat three years ago?

01:05:35Yes.

01:05:35And her name was changed from Hippocon, I think it was, to Tedmar.

01:05:40And as my learned friend has already pointed out, Tedmar is a conjugation of the names Edward and Marcia.

01:05:47It was for appearances' sake.

01:05:48To give the impression of a happily married couple.

01:05:51For the boys.

01:05:53Who are at public school.

01:05:54For appearances' sake.

01:05:56To get on nowadays, you need the best education money can buy.

01:06:01And a penthouse to live in.

01:06:04Or was that also for appearances' sake?

01:06:06We could afford it.

01:06:07Yes.

01:06:08Until last June, when K&N Construction went bankrupt.

01:06:12And then, I suggest that for your appearances' sake, you fled to Marbella.

01:06:17I was sick to death of his dirty little affairs.

01:06:20And now you are petitioning for divorce and for the custody of the boys.

01:06:23Yes.

01:06:24How much maintenance do you receive?

01:06:27£100 a week.

01:06:28Uh, it's £5,200 a year, out of which you pay the boys' school fees.

01:06:36No.

01:06:37Oh.

01:06:39Well, who does pay them?

01:06:41My husband.

01:06:42And how much is that a year?

01:06:45£1,100 each.

01:06:47So, that's a further £2,200.

01:06:51In all, £7,400 a year.

01:06:54Yes.

01:06:55I suggest to you, Mrs Blaney, that your own selfish interests would best be served if

01:06:59your husband loses this action.

01:07:02His plant-hire company will be wound up to pay his debts, and you can be there, waving

01:07:06your little piece of paper, demanding your pound of flesh.

01:07:09That's ridiculous.

01:07:10I have no further questions.

01:07:12Mrs Blaney, is your evidence today motivated by malice and self-interest?

01:07:16No, of course not.

01:07:18I just didn't think he should get away with it anymore, that's all.

01:07:20Thank you, Mrs Blaney.

01:07:22No further questions, Menard.

01:07:25May it please you, Lordship, members of the jury.

01:07:29My client's contention that the plaintiff's claim is fraudulent, that he placed an inflated

01:07:33value on his boat and then wrecked it deliberately, is amply borne out by the evidence.

01:07:39The plaintiff bought a boat for £12,500 and made improvements worth a couple of thousand

01:07:43more.

01:07:44Then, finding himself in desperate need of funds, he tried to sell the boat for £25,000,

01:07:50but without success.

01:07:52So he obtained from Major Trussler's company a high-interest-rate loan, which the Major

01:07:56himself had to guarantee.

01:07:59However, during this period, that gentleman had to resign from the committee of the Turf

01:08:03Association because of gambling debts that he couldn't pay.

01:08:06Well, an obvious solution to their problem was to sink the Tadmire and collect the insurance.

01:08:11However, as Mrs Blaney has pointed out, her husband's a very clever man.

01:08:14So he and his accomplices arranged to be caught out in some misdemeanour so as to divert attention

01:08:19from their real crime.

01:08:20Thus, we have an easily detectable falsification of the plaintiff's claim.

01:08:26We have their mutual friend, Miss Sheridan, allowing her good name to be sullied.

01:08:31And then we have the astonishing statement from Major Trussler that he went out to Breton's

01:08:35Cove in a storm to rescue 250 yards of illegal fishing net.

01:08:39And we're asked to believe that whilst engaged in this enterprise, he happened to meet the

01:08:43plaintiff and Miss Sheridan, who'd gone to the same spot for a bit of privacy.

01:08:48Well, members of the jury, coincidences do occur, there's no doubt about that, but the

01:08:53range of coincidences culminating in this one event, the wrecking of the Tadmire, is such

01:08:58as to stretch credulity beyond all reasonable belief.

01:09:01And the final coincidence of all the mathematics of the case is the most extraordinary.

01:09:05£12,500, the original cost of the Tadmire, plus £2,500 worth of improvements, plus an £8,500

01:09:13loan, plus £1,500 of gambling debts.

01:09:18Does it surprise you to learn, members of the jury, that those sums total £25,000, the

01:09:25amount the lost boat was insured for?

01:09:28No wonder there was champagne all round in the clubhouse that night.

01:09:32No wonder they declined the cargo boat's offer of a tow.

01:09:34And when you consider that we've only got the plaintiff's word for it that his boat ever

01:09:40had engine trouble, and that the only expert witnesses that this trial has stated that in

01:09:45his view the boat was sunk deliberately, I'm sure that you will be forced to the conclusion

01:09:49that the wrecking of the Tadmire was a conspiracy to defraud.

01:09:53But when Mr Draxman examined the wreckage, and he is a marine expert, he found the conditions

01:10:00of the engines to be as the plaintiff had described them, except in one detail.

01:10:05The half-dismantled water pump worked.

01:10:09Now under cross-examination, Mr Draxman agreed that it could have been possible that the foreign

01:10:13body blocking the water pump could have been washed away.

01:10:18He also admitted that the seacock could have been opened by being dashed against the rocks.

01:10:23He might have remarked it was improbable, but he had to admit it was possible.

01:10:29As to Mrs Blaney's evidence, I suggest that you entirely discount it as coming from a very

01:10:34prejudiced witness in whom little credence can possibly be put.

01:10:38The evidence establishes that my client is entitled to the value of his boat, which is

01:10:43£25,000.

01:10:45And accordingly, I ask for a verdict for him in that sum.

01:10:50My members of the jury, this is a simple case.

01:10:54The plaintiff is entitled to an indemnity for the loss of his boat, unless the defendants

01:11:00have established, on the balance of probabilities, that its loss was deliberate and not accidental.

01:11:07Now, if you should decide that you are not satisfied that the boat was wrecked deliberately,

01:11:13then, of course, you must fine for the plaintiff and award him the value of the boat.

01:11:18And as regards this value, you've heard the insurance assessor say that it is valued at

01:11:22£17,000, whereas the plaintiff says he insured it for £25,000.

01:11:28It would be for you to decide which of those two sums was the most appropriate, or indeed

01:11:32any figure between those two sums.

01:11:35Now, members of the jury, will you kindly retire to consider your verdict?

01:11:49Members of the jury, will your foreman please stand?

01:11:52Just answer this question, yes or no.

01:11:54Have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?

01:11:56Yes.

01:11:57Do you find for the plaintiff, Mr Edward Blaney, or the defendants, the Yachtsman Insurance

01:12:02Agency and Mr Drexman?

01:12:04The defendants.

01:12:16Next week, you can join another jury when our cameras return to watch a leading case in

01:12:21the Crown Court.

Crown Court - The Wrecking of the Tedmar (1974)

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