A 24 FOOT yacht has been 'smashed to smithereens' after being in involved in an incident with a Milford Haven Port Authority pilot launch.

The incident, in the early hours of August 13th, involved Going Krazy, a Westerly GK24, and the pilot launch Robert Hastie.

Owners Bryan and Ruth Jones, who live at Gelliswick, Milford Haven, estimate the accident has caused more than £10,000 worth of damage.

"The boat is absolutely written off, smashed to smithereens," revealed Ruth. "The boat has been there for 15 years and we have never experienced anything like this before.

The chief executive of Milford Haven Port Authority, Ted Sangster, said an investigation had been launched into the incident.

He claimed the Jones' yacht had broken free from its Cunjic moorings and the unlit and unattended boat had drifted into the channel.

"It is the first occasion in the six or seven years I have been with the Port Authority that our pilot launch has hit another vessel in this manner," he said.

Mr Sangster insisted the speed of the pilot launch was not an issue, claiming the accident had happened just a couple of hundred yards from the jetty.

But former commodore at Pembrokeshire Yacht Club, Gordon Thompson, said: "It is true to say that there is concern among members who use the harbour, about the speed in which the Robert Hastie goes about the Haven. Certainly it has been called upon by yachts, when we have been out racing, to slow down."

Last week, the Port Authority unveiled the Milford Haven Waterway Recreation Plan 2005, designed to ensure the increasing numbers of people who enjoy leisure activities on the waterway can continue to do so.