'My baby where are you - Mother's desperate texts to deceased son from £65m super-yacht on its way to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones - Continentalinquirer

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Sunday 24 May 2015

'My baby where are you - Mother's desperate texts to deceased son from £65m super-yacht on its way to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones


An inquest is to open into the drowning of a young deckhand who plunged to his death from a £65million superyacht. 
Michael Hanlon, known to friends as Milo, was 22 when he died at Port Vauban in Antibes in April 2013. 
He had been working on board Faith, a super-yacht popular among celebrities, when he died. 
But amid allegations the yachting company he was working for had not been following safety procedures, an inquest into the young man's death is to open in Kendal, Cumbria. 
Michael Hanlon, known to his friends as Milo, died while working as a deckhand on the boat  in April 2013
Michael Hanlon, known to his friends as Milo, died while working as a deckhand on the boat  in April 2013


Mr Hanlon had travelled from the Caribbean to the south of France on board the luxury vessel when it docked in Spring of 2013. 
It was intended to go on to collect Catherine Zeta-Jones and her husband Michael Douglas and take them the short distance to Cannes. 

After working a gruelling schedule with only four hours of sleep in between shifts, Mr Hanlon had been out in the town after docking at Port Vauban on April 6. 
He had eaten a meal with the crew beforehand and had been drinking vodka, it was alleged.
Exhausted from working long hours, he went back to the boat before other crew members to rest, his mother said today.  
Mr Hanlon had been working as a deckhand on Faith, a superyacht popular among celebrities (above) 
Mr Hanlon had been working as a deckhand on Faith, a superyacht popular among celebrities (above) 


When he returned to the boat there was no one there to allow the 22-year-old back on board.
The boat's CCTV footage showed him returning shortly after 11pm and walking around its mooring for around 40 minutes. 
The onus for health and safety should be the boat's responsibility... if that had been the case Michael would still be there living his dream
Fiona Hanlon He was not seen again until divers recovered his body from beneath its hull. 
At some point he fell into the water, with a post-mortem examination revealing his fatal injuries were consistent with those of a fall. 
On April 8, his father, Bob Hanlon, was contacted by Faith's captain to inform the family Mr Hanlon had gone missing. 
Two days later the family were informed that local police had been enlisted to help in the search for Mr Hanlon. 
It was then they learned divers had discovered his body.  
An inquest into Mr Hanlon's death this week is due to hear accounts the youngster had been left exhausted by the working schedule. 
In a pre-inquest interview his mother, musician Fiona Hanlon, told the coroner Alan Sharp her son had been working 'illegal hours' on the ship. 
Speaking to MailOnline this afternoon, she said there were questions to be answered over her son's death. 
'We are hoping that lessons will be learned from the inquest and that these responsible young sailors will be treated correctly by the industry. 
'The onus for health and safety including hours of rest and access should be the boat's responsibility, not the new crew members.
Fiona Hanlon said her son had been working 'illegal hours'
The 22-year-old had been working long hours with short breaks which allowed him hardly any sleep, his mother alleged 
The 22-year-old had been working long hours with short breaks which allowed him hardly any sleep, his mother, Fiona Hanlon (left), alleged 


'If that had been the case, Michael would still be here living his dream.' 
She said blamed the yacht's removal of a '24/7 watch' for his death, adding: 'They gave him vodka...then locked him out because they removed the 24/7 watch that was supposed to have let him in when he came home earlier than the other crew.'  
A director at the company which owns Faith would not comment on Mrs Hanlon's allegations today, saying the matter would be best dealt with by the coroner. 
Famous clientele: The yacht was reportedly on its way to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas 
Famous clientele: The yacht was reportedly on its way to pick up Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas 
'I think it would be inappropriate to comment (on these allegations) when there is an inquest schedule for Wednesday,' Jonathan Dudman, Managing Director at Monaco Sports and Management S.A.M told MailOnline. 
'It was a tragedy. We're very sorry for Mrs Hanlon and for the entire incident but I think the nature of what happened will be best handled by the coroner. 
Mr Dudman said he would attend the inquest in Cumbria on Wednesday alongside the boat's captain. 
It is not known yet whether either will give evidence.  
Other details of Mr Hanlon's final days alive are to emerge, with the coroner due to hear text messages from his mother  as she grew increasingly concerned for his whereabouts after not hearing from him. 
In one, Mrs Hanlon pleads: 'Worried about you now - no contact gets me thinking something is wrong - say hello soon please x.' 
Later she begs: 'My baby where are you x x x please get in touch angel - we just want to know that you are OK'.  
Since his death, tens of thousands of pounds has been raised in Mr Hanlon's memory to fund scholarships at UKSA, formerly known as the UK Sailing Academy. 
One page (found here), which pays for sailing enthusiasts to study the same course as Mr Hanlon did, has raised more than £30,0000.  
The inquest will open in Kendal, Cumbria, on Wednesday. 

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