The family of a 29-year-old woman who was among five Britons killed when their whale-watching boat sank off the west coast of Canada have described her as a “vibrant, outgoing and lovely young woman”.
Katie Taylor, who lived in Whistler, British Columbia, was one of six people – five Britons and an Australian – who drowned when the Leviathan II capsized near Vancouver Island on Sunday, seemingly after being hit by a freak wave.
In a brief statement issued by the Foreign Office, her family said: “Katie was a vibrant, outgoing and lovely young woman. She will be very much missed by all of her family and many friends. We would ask that you respect our privacy at such a difficult time.”
The other Britons who died were David Thomas, 50, and his 18-year-old son Stephen, from Swindon, Wiltshire; Nigel Hooker, 63, from Southampton; and Jack Slater, 76, who lived in Toronto. An Australian man aged 27, from Sydney, remains missing.
Martin Wire, a neighbour of Hooker, described his death as a tragedy. “He lived on his own but had visits from his family – three daughters, I believe. He was a very nice guy. I saw him last week going off on holiday, he certainly seemed to be an adventurous person. It’s a very sad situation, quite unbelievable.”
Airbus Defence and Space said Hooker worked in Portsmouth for its telecommunications satellite business. It said in a statement: “Nigel was a well-respected and popular colleague, and will be greatly missed by everyone he worked with. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
On Tuesday, Stephen Thomas’s brother, Paul, 22, a student, told the Swindon Advertiser that his mother, Julie, was also on board but survived with minor injuries. He planned to fly to Canada to be with his mother, the paper said.
Microsoft UK issued a statement paying tribute to David Thomas, who worked for the company. The Down’s Syndrome Association UK described him as a “huge supporter” of the organisation.
Stephen Thomas, who had Down’s syndrome, “was a very talented young man and a gifted photographer”, the association said in a statement.
It said: “His love of photography started when he was eight years old. We were all delighted when Stephen’s beautiful image Moraine Lake won the national My Perspective photographic competition last year.”
Jack Slater’s daughter, Michele Slater Brown, paid tribute to her father on her Facebook page: “Our dad was larger than life, a charmer, handsome, entrepreneur, engineer in the navy, he was 76 years old, he was our dad, our lovely dad, I will miss him forever but I’m grateful for all the times I spent with him, I love you dad.”
Slater was on board the Leviathan II with his wife Marjorie, who was rescued.
Canada’s transportation safety board has said that after questioning some of the 21 survivors, including three crew, it initially concluded that the boat sank after it was hit by a wave when most of the passengers were gathered on the top deck watching sea lions.
“We know that most passengers were on the top deck on the port side,” said Marc-André Poisson, the board’s director of marine investigations. “This would have raised the centre of gravity, affecting the vessel’s stability. We also know that the sea conditions were such that a wave approached from the starboard quarter … We know that the vessel broached and then capsized.”
