YARMOUTH

A 63-year-old Brunswick man was killed during a boating collision off Littlejohn Island in Yarmouth on Friday that may have been caused by a lack of visibility due to sunlight.

Sgt. Robert Beal of Maine Marine Patrol confirmed this morning the crash involving a 14-foot aluminum skiff with a 10 horsepower motor and a 36-foot motor yacht occurred at 5:15 p.m. Friday, resulting in the death of Charles W. Whetham of Brunswick.

Beal said both boats were traveling southwest. The aluminum skiff operated by Whetham was struck on the starboard side, Beal said, so Whetham would have had to travel in front of the yacht. The impact caused Whetham to be ejected and his aluminum skiff to capsize. The collision occurred where vessels tend to converge to navigate that area of water, Beal said.

The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary boat was following behind the motor yacht, which had eight people aboard, and witnessed the incident and pulled Whetham from the water. Efforts to revive Whetham were unsuccessful, according to an Associated Press report. Beal said this morning that Whetham was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland by Freeport Rescue, where he was declared dead.

The collision remains under investigation, but Beal said this morning that “What we’re really trying to determine is how much of a role sunlight may have played in obstructing the victim’s vision. We think it was significant. Witness reports indicate that Mr. Whetham never saw the 36-foot motor boat.”

Alcohol does not appear to be a factor. Whetham had been on Chebeague Island for the day, where he worked as a caretaker and was traveling back to Littlejohn Island, Beal said. His body was taken to the state medical examiner and is expected to undergo toxicology testing.

The driver and owner of the motor yacht, Richard Lemieux of Scarborough and Foxborough, Mass., had blood drawn and there is no sign that alcohol was a factor, Beal said. The yacht stopped after the incident and everyone was cooperative.

Beal said this morning no charges have been filed and the collision is still under investigation.