In 2007, my mate Andy Whitton fell overboard from his yacht during a Pacific crossing from Tahiti toward the Galapagos. There was no evidence of foul play and no charges were ever laid against me. But Australian Story turned it into a character assassination piece full of half-truths, edited interviews, ignored statements (including Kylie Dean’s father’s contradicting evidence), and insinuations. For years I have fought to set the record straight. This page is my full, unfiltered response to what they aired — and what they deliberately left out.
Official ABC page – contains the full episode if still available in Australia.
It was very much an Un-Australian Story showing bias, non fact and innuendo whilst focusing on negative account with gaping omissions.
It would be interesting to see full interviews compared to inquest statements, transcript as well as the statements ignored by the coroner such as Kylie Dean’s father which totally contradicts Kylie’s comment of me saying ten years previously (19 years ago now) that “The only way I would get a yacht is to push someone overboard”. The coroner Mary Jerram stated Miss Kylie Dean was a very credible witness but ignored the statement by her own father saying that Kylie was very bitter toward me for breaking up with her and going out with a well known model. He also stated that it was him that had stated this to his daughter jokingly. I was not present. This statement was disregarded by the coroner’s court.
Re-enactments were inaccurate and Galapagos was the only logical choice as Pitcairn and Rapa Nui (Easter) islands have no and very little shelter with no repair facilities. Expert opinion backs my decisions on this.
Andy was gone and I reported his disappearance to the yacht “Cuttyhunk” and then at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos. If I was trying to cover anything then I would not have told the only yacht I saw about Andy’s disappearance and simply said Andy disappeared after the encounter with the Cutty Hunk. If I never mentioned the disappearance to the Cutty Hunk nor to the authorities on the encounter with the Cutty Hunk then there would have been no witness nor any flack for me making my decisions.
The SSB radio was non-operational due to water damage leaving me with only VHF which only reaches to the horizon. I thought about the yacht Cutty Hunk relaying a message but then thought of my family’s worry. Andy was gone and it was my job to report this. No one else’s. I stand by my decision.
A ten month investigation by Police, Navy and Consuls in South America followed. I was interviewed multiple times and the yacht and equipment were forensically tested. I co-operated completely.
Shortly after I arrived in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Louise Witten asked local authorities to remove me from Andy’s yacht. She denied doing this to me and then paid a local caretaker to live on the yacht. It was common knowledge that the young local was a well known thief and equally well known that everything was going missing from the yacht. I formally raised this with local police and Louise.
I advised Andy’s family to have someone come to Galapagos immediately on multiple occasions to dismiss rumours circulating in Australia, to get first hand information and aid in protecting Andy’s possessions. These pleas were ignored.
The shame of the situation is that Andy’s family did not get facts while looking on from the other side of the world with unreasonable suspicion. The result being alienation, misinformation, lost memories of Andy’s last months and Andy’s possessions being stolen off the boat, all because of an unswerving witch-hunt attitude.
Utter garbage statements in the story such as “the boat felt eerie” amount to nothing but sensational trash journalism. I’m surprised they didn’t film a witch doctor to summon any spirits.
Mark Ovens stating that I was not coming back to Tahiti is news to me. I always had a return ticket.
Navigation gear was obviously taken by authorities or stolen by the local thief being paid by Andy’s sister to live on the boat. I’m not sure because I had not been on the boat for at least six months. All of Andy’s possessions were there when I was evicted from the vessel by police and prosecutor at Andy’s sister’s wishes. I raised concerns about Andy’s possessions going missing to his family and the police. It was ignored until later when it became convenient to blame me. This was around the time Hamish turned up.
What was said by individuals in the interview was vastly different to what was said at the coronial inquest. It was obviously heavily edited to the biased side. Andy was painted as a saint at the coronial inquest, but in the program it was mentioned about prison in the UK. What about the six months in Kerobokan Prison in Bali where Andy had two suitcases of concealed Buddha sticks they never found? Funny story, shame to leave it out but I guess it was more about a witch hunt for me.
The re-creations of the boat encounter were totally inaccurate and misleading.
The only quote from the coronial inquest was that of Kylie Dean which was proven to be a vindictive lie by her own father’s statement. Why wasn’t this shown in the story? It was filmed and I was assured it would be shown.
Emily Bourke states that the coroner suggested that “I picked up money from Europe and left Tahiti with intentions of a drug deal in South America and somewhere along the way Andy became aware of this and there was an argument”.
Without any evidence whatsoever. This shows two things. The coronial judge had no interest in what really happened, and was a moron. It also shows that the AFP were dictating the coronial inquest.
Did I just walk on with bags of money from Europe to Tahiti on a multiple leg flight – Did I? And did Andy being a scallywag who spent time in prison in Kerobokan and England for drugs remain totally clueless in this whole fictitious plan. And then there is his so called mate, Mark Ovens again stating Andy was offered to do a drug importation with strong reference to me. So how was this surprise to him? You say one thing in your crap story, then you contradict yourself.
For Emily Bourke to call me a liar is a personal attack. This interview was done on her deceptiveness and lies. Bravo, you deserve a Logie. It was a vastly different person than the one behind the scenes and when we were alone in Aria’s penthouse. My interview was sincere and if anything, perhaps too honest.
Simon Golding
Let’s use some logic. Andy planned for years to go to the Caribbean on his trip of a lifetime. Set sail from Sydney to Tahiti, then Tahiti to Galapagos, then planned to go to Costa Rica to meet up with a friend, then through Panama to the Caribbean. Andy had work organised in the West Indies. He planned to stay for years.
Then according to some, Andy wanted to turn around ¾ of the way across the Pacific and go back to Australia without mention anywhere or to anyone? Nothing mentioned in any letters or his logbook, no mention to his closest friends. It’s absurd!
A few times a year I hear of people falling off boats and going missing, but I have never seen anyone go through the bullshit I’ve had to endure. Andy’s so called mate, Mark Ovens, told that Andy was fearful of falling off his boat, (Just like any yachties fears) Why? Because it happens, but somehow we are expected to believe some people are super human and incapable of a simple accident, so they attempt to blame others.
Andy was human. He took chances and was relaxed about safety. The life raft being years out of date is testament to this. We sailed in nothing but board shorts. We never wore a harness or dragged a line.
Ask yourself, how do people fall off cruise ships? How does someone trip over at home or on a footpath?
On TV at the moment is an ad with world famous solo sailor Kay Cottee, where she states that one time she fell overboard. The notion that someone could not fall off their boat, even whilst docked in a marina, is ridiculous. There are hundreds of things to trip you. A mis-step, a mis-judgement, a rope, misbalance, light headedness, a heart attack, knock your head, a seizure, a cramp, a distraction of some sort ….etc, etc, etc. To say otherwise is to kid yourself.
I have copped criticism for not taking “a softer, safer approach when another vessel came up alongside him”. Of course! Because my whole life has been a softer, safer avenue when you think about it.
At that stage, Andy was gone, nothing was going to change that. As soon as I spoke with the other yacht I informed them about Andy’s disappearance. They asked me if I wanted them to relay the message on when they reached Rapa Nui. I thought about my family’s worry and decided it was my job to report it in full detail, not half information being relayed by unknown persons. It was my responsibility, no one else’s.
I have received much criticism for not abandoning Andy’s yacht. I was not going to simply let his possessions float away while I took an easy route. I reported Andy’s disappearance to the “Cuttyhunk” immediately. I reported Andy’s disappearance immediately to the authorities, both in Galapagos and Australia when I reached land. I notified his family the moment I got their number, which is when for the first time I felt like I was unfairly scrutinised.
At the coronial inquest it was stated by the skipper of the “Cuttyhunk” something along the lines of: Look, I got the impression Simon was dealing with an incredible amount of stress. It’s a testament to his character he made it to anywhere. How come this wasn’t shown in your program?
After reading somewhere on Louise Witton’s comment that I said some disgusting thing in my response to Australian Story.
My response to this is that it is the truth, and I am defending myself against foul allegations. Some people have a problem with the truth. It is way more disgusting to imply from day one what was implied about me without any knowledge of what happened, just immediate suspicion.
I am deeply sorry for Andy’s family and friends’ loss, just as I lost a good mate.
I went through a lot after Andy’s accident and as in the coronial inquest, everyone who was questioned stated that we never had a bad word to say about each other, only the highest respect.
Australian Story did not show any of these facts nor my ex-girlfriend’s father’s statement, stating that his daughter’s statement against me was vindictive lies. It was a witch hunt.
I stand behind the tough decision I had to make in a high stress situation and it sounds like I would still be criticised by some no matter what decisions I had made.
As stated by the skipper of the boat I encountered after Andy’s disappearance, something along the lines of: Look I got the impression Simon was under immense pressure (to a testament to his survival instincts) and amazing he made it out alive. The moment I encountered the other yacht I told them about Andy’s disappearance. Does this sound like I was hiding?
The shame of the situation is that Andy’s family did not get facts while looking on from the other side of the world with unreasonable suspicion. The result being alienation, misinformation, lost memories of Andy’s last months and Andy’s possessions being stolen off the boat, all because of an unswerving witch-hunt attitude.
Utter garbage statements in the story such as “the boat felt eerie” amount to nothing but sensational trash journalism. I’m surprised they didn’t film a witch doctor to summon any spirits.
Mark Ovens stating that I was not coming back to Tahiti is news to me. I always had a return ticket.
Navigation gear was obviously taken by authorities or stolen by the local thief being paid by Andy’s sister to live on the boat. I’m not sure because I had not been on the boat for at least six months. All of Andy’s possessions were there when I was evicted from the vessel by police and prosecutor at Andy’s sister’s wishes. I raised concerns about Andy’s possessions going missing to his family and the police. It was ignored until later when it became convenient to blame me. This was around the time Hamish turned up.
What was said by individuals in the interview was vastly different to what was said at the coronial inquest. It was obviously heavily edited to the biased side. Andy was painted as a saint at the coronial inquest, but in the program it was mentioned about prison in the UK. What about the six months in Kerobokan Prison in Bali where Andy had two suitcases of concealed Buddha sticks they never found? Funny story, shame to leave it out but I guess it was more about a witch hunt for me.
The re-creations of the boat encounter were totally inaccurate and misleading.
The only quote from the coronial inquest was that of Kylie Dean which was proven to be a vindictive lie by her own father’s statement. Why wasn’t this shown in the story? It was filmed and I was assured it would be shown.
Emily Bourke states that the coroner suggested that “I picked up money from Europe and left Tahiti with intentions of a drug deal in South America and somewhere along the way Andy became aware of this and there was an argument”.
Without any evidence whatsoever. This shows two things. The coronial judge had no interest in what really happened, and was a moron. It also shows that the AFP were dictating the coronial inquest.
Did I just walk on with bags of money from Europe to Tahiti on a multiple leg flight – Did I? And did Andy being a scallywag who spent time in prison in Kerobokan and England for drugs remain totally clueless in this whole fictitious plan. And then there is his so called mate, Mark Ovens again stating Andy was offered to do a drug importation with strong reference to me. So how was this surprise to him? You say one thing in your crap story, then you contradict yourself.
For Emily Bourke to call me a liar is a personal attack. This interview was done on her deceptiveness and lies. Bravo, you deserve a Logie. It was a vastly different person than the one behind the scenes and when we were alone in Aria’s penthouse. My interview was sincere and if anything, perhaps too honest.
Glad to see your pitchfork, petrol and flaming torch have been taken from you. What a complete crap piece of malicious journalism fuelled by AFP and the fact you were angry at me for filming with Channel 7.
Isn’t it odd that years after any media, on the 2nd January 2023, Australian Story do a re-run, and the very same day there is a newspaper story in the Courier Mail with mention of me in “MONEY TROUBLE FOR TOP LAWYER” by none other than tubby, vindictive, sacked journalist from Sydney papers, incidentally because of Zali. No bias here.
All this just happens while I have upcoming court proceedings concerning fraud and profoundly unlawful actions by prosecution and others. Coincidental?
The mere notion that I did something untoward to my friend makes me sick. I never would have thought I would have to defend myself from such garbage by a family who outcast him, a sensational crap TV story and a corrupt agency with completely different underhand motivations.
As I’ve said before, get facts before you make a judgement on me. If you don’t want to hear facts, go to hell. Why should I pay for your naivety, close-mindedness, unhappiness and unwillingness or inability to see the real situation and the underlying motives.
Just like in prison, the ones pointing and bad mouthing are generally hiding their own dark secrets.
Judge me when your perfect!
Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes…..
Simon Golding
