Yacht club cleared over death

By SCOTT MacLEOD

When Derry Cabena's body was pulled from the Westhaven Marina near his yacht, police suspected murder.

That was before they tested the 74-year-old's blood and found more than three times the legal alcohol limit for driving.

Police then accused the Ponsonby Cruising Club and a bar manager of letting the old sailor get drunk, and asked the Liquor Licensing Authority to revoke their licences. The police case failed.

The 102-year-old club, one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, would have been turned into a tearooms had the police won, Commodore Clive Carter said yesterday.

Mr Cabena fell in the water early on December 1 after nine hours at the club drinking beer and whisky.

Several patrons believed he was drunk and saw him being helped to his yacht, Julie III.

Police alleged that a manager, Kay Elizabeth Evans, or members of the club committee must have seen Mr Cabena acting drunk. The club and its staff let him stay and kept serving him drinks.

But the club argued that Mr Cabena had a known ability to handle large amounts of alcohol, was not drunk when he left and probably fell off his yacht because of a medical condition.

Wendy Muir spoke to Mr Cabena in the club at 10pm. She thought he was a lonely, drunk old man.

Natalie Townsend, who saw him after he left the club, said he appeared to be very drunk. He could hardly stand.

However, other witnesses said they saw no signs of drunkenness at the club.

Mr Cabena was last seen boarding his yacht with a man who seemed to be helping him.

A few hours later, at 10am, Sergeant Aaron Kennaway was called to view a fully clothed body found floating in the water.

The sergeant searched Julie III and found both hatches locked. None of the keys on Mr Cabena's body fitted the padlocks.

The death was treated as suspicious. A camera mounted near one of the marina's gates showed Mr Cabena entering with a Dutch tourist, Erik Kerkhoue - the last person to see him alive.

Mr Kerkhoue made a statement to police and left for Holland. He never returned.

The club said Kay Evans was known as an Iron Lady because of her strict control over alcohol sales.

She had never seen Mr Cabena show any signs of drunkenness in the three years she had been bar manager. She thought he was a slow drinker who could make a half-pint last an hour.

Late in the evening, she thought Mr Cabena had been in the toilet too long and sent someone to check on him.

Neuropathologist Dr Beth Synek found evidence of multiple episodes of damage to Mr Cabena's brain due to lack of oxygen, including one within three weeks of his death and one an hour before.

The authority found that Mr Cabena's medical condition could have made him appear drunk.

"It seemed to us that Ms Evans was a very competent manager who kept a good eye on the members and their guests," the authority found. "The function at the club on November 30 was in our view well managed."

Commodore Carter said the club had been unable to hold functions since February because the allegations had stopped it from getting special licences.

"It's cost us a lot of money."