A dad-of-two and experienced fisherman died after being swept out to sea in a stunt that went horribly wrong.
Peter Mosley's body was found nearly three weeks after he jumped off a fishing boat shouting "Geronimo".
Mr Mosley jumped into the North Sea from the fishing boat Misty Blue after it had anchored due to a mechanical issue off the coast of Tunstall, east Yorkshire, on July 5, last year, an inquest into his death at Hull Coroner's Court was told.
The 37-year-old was carried away by the current, and a search to find him involving coastguard crews, lifeboats, search helicopters and fishing boats was launched, Hull Live reports.
Mr Mosley's body was found nearly three weeks later 25 miles off the coast of Bridlington.
Paying tribute, his family described him as “a well-respected fisherman” and a “wonderful” partner and father.
Peter’s dad Arther Mosley said: “As a person he was a good lad. He had plenty of friends and he had his family. He was always happy.
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“He was a good fisherman and he was well-respected. He was good at his job and he was a strong lad. Everybody wanted him with them.”
Mr Mosley, of Withernsea, Yorkshire, was an experienced fisherman and worked on his dad’s vessels Tristar and Spurn Light for 16 years.
He was also a "wonderful" dad to two young girls Frankie, who will turn two in April, and Peggy-Lee, who will be one in April.
In a statement, Peter’s partner Gemma said: “His complete happiness was his family, the children, our relationship and fishing.
“Peter’s father had been a fisherman for 40 years. It became a passion for Peter and he was a fisherman all his life. He was well-respected by many fishermen in the area and he worked on numerous boats.
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“Peter was a wonderful partner and father. I miss him every day.”
Peter had not been out to sea for ten days, due to electrical problems with the Misty Blue, and was anxious to get back out on the water to earn a wage, according to his family.
Repairs were made to the boat and Peter spent the night with his family at his parent’s caravan in Sand Le Mere in Tunstall before heading out to sea the next morning on July 5 with the skipper of Misty Blue.
The two fishermen headed north to collect from the lobster pots, then attempted to make their way back to the coast.
But just a mile out to sea they had issues with the gearbox which caused the boat to grind to a halt.
“I said to [Peter] the day before there is trouble with that gearbox,” said Arthur. “Peter said there were metal pieces in the oil but they had changed it.
“I told him it’s knackered.”
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The boat became “a sitting duck”, said the owner of Misty Blue, who dropped anchor to wait for the high tide to clear.
Mr Mosley reportedly stripped down to his blue shorts to sunbathe.
In court, the Misty Blue’s owner said: “He was sunbathing on the back of the boat. I was on the phone to [a marine engineer] to sort out a new gearbox.
“As I just put down the phone I turned around and Peter said he was going for a swim and shouted ‘Geronimo’ as he jumped in.”
Peter eventually emerged but the strong current pulled him out of reach of a life ring that had been thrown to him by his skipper.
“He must have been six to ten feet away,” said the skipper. “But by the time I got the life ring I couldn’t reach him.
“He was just swimming and swimming and he was just getting carried further away. He didn’t reach the ring. I just saw him disappearing on the horizon.”
Left with nowhere to go, the skipper says he called the coastguard as Peter continued to drift further away from the vessel, setting off numerous flares calling for any boats close by to come to his aid.
Around a dozen fishing boats answered the call and helped search for Peter throughout the day but he was not found.
It was a stunt that Peter is said to have pulled off on other boats before but never whilst working on Misty Blue or while fishing with his father.
His dad Arthur said: “He started swimming in the sea from when he was about 10 to 12 years old. He was a very strong swimmer.
“I have heard about these stunts before and I told him then to knock it on the head. But it is only hearsay. In 16 years he would never do that with me. I would not let him. He never even stripped down.”
Searches involving coastguard crews, lifeboats and search helicopters continued but Peter’s body would not be recovered until July 24.
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A fishing crew that had helped in the initial search for Mr Mosley on the day he went missing found his body 25 miles off the coast Bridlington.
The "shocked" crew recognised him by the blue shorts he had been wearing the moment he jumped off Misty Blue.
An inquest held at Hull Coroner's Court on Monday, February 17, concluded that Peter’s death was “caused by a deliberate action that went wrong”.
Coroner Rosemary Baxter said: “I have listened to all of the evidence available very carefully and on a balance of probabilities I find that this death was due to misadventure.
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“He encountered difficulties and was not able to grasp the life ring thrown to him and I consider his death to have been caused by a deliberate action that went wrong.”
Peter's dad Arthur feels he may never fully know what happened that day, saying: "The first call that should have been made was to the coastguard.
"What happened should not have happened."
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