SIMPSON BAY--A tragic incident in the Simpson Bay lagoon resulted in the death of a mega yacht crew member.
Andy Lavero, a Philippine, went for an evening out at the Soggy Dollar bar. As a trusted crew member of 14 years he was allowed to use the yacht's tender for his own personal transportation.
Soggy Dollar staff reported that he had left the bar happy, but not drunk, aboard the tender in a perfectly normal manner around 1:00am Saturday. He then went missing and failed to return to the yacht. Valero's known reliability was such that this caused great concern to the yacht owner and crew members.
The dinghy was found with the engine still running and the throttle fully forward at Hotel Flamboyant in Nettle Bay and the Gendarmerie was called. Gendarmes recovered the tender and returned it to the yacht moored in Porto Cupecoy.
Crew and friends on neighbouring yachts immediately set out in search parties to try to find the missing man, but to no avail. They continued searching until after 6:00am, hoping he would surface or would be found to be safe.
An examination of the tender revealed front-end damage that was consistent with it having been involved in a collision with another vessel. Coast Guard and other boats joined the search during Saturday morning, but there was still no trace of Valero.
A phone call was received around 3:00pm, whilst a Daily Herald reporter was aboard the yacht speaking with the owner and crew, to the effect that a body had been found. The hopes and prayers of crew were dashed and there was visible distress amongst them. The yacht owner and another crew member left to identify the body. A short while later the owner telephoned this newspaper that it was indeed Valero.
A suggestion that had been made to the yacht captain that another boat had been involved in a collision has now been discounted. Police Chief Inspector Geronimo Juliet said, "No. That has now been found not to be the case. The body was found at a buoy and it is believed that the tender hit that buoy at some speed."
Valero is described as a super-fit and strong man who worked out regularly. Subsequent unconfirmed reports suggest that Valero may have sustained a heart attack before drowning.
Chief Inspector Juliet said, "We have not yet had any such confirmation of a heart attack. A post mortem examination will soon reveal whether anything of that type took place."
Local doctor Mike Mercuur has suggested that in general, such a diagnosis is relatively easy in a man who has drowned, as there would be very little water in the man's lungs if he had been dead prior to entering the water, whereas if he had been still alive, the act of breathing would completely fill the lungs.
Pressure on the man's chest would cause a foamy substance to emanate from the mouth and nose. There would also tend to be very bloodshot eyes. Dr. Mercuur declined to make any comment on this individual's case.
Valero leaves behind a wife and two children under age eight at his home in the Philippines. The yacht owner made arrangements on Saturday for the tragic news to be delivered personally to his bereaved family.
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