When the incident occurred on August 28 of last year, builder Julian Luffman, age 51, was located a half mile off of Lepe Beach.

His wife, Olesya Luffman, testified at the inquest in Winchester that he suffered from spondylitis, which is inflammation of the spine. This condition restricted his range of motion in his shoulders and neck.

According to the testimony presented at the inquest, Mr. Luffman had conducted study prior to purchasing two inflatable boards for his family around one month before he passed away.

As he anticipated that the water would be more placid at Lepe Beach, he made the decision to test out the boards there.

Mrs. Luffman reported that she was windsurfing about a half a mile offshore. Her husband, who was not wearing a lifejacket, began using one of the paddle boards in order to get to her and eventually came out to the water.

When Mr. Luffman attempted to flip the board around while he was standing up, he lost his balance and fell into the water feet first.

The man’s widow is quoted as saying, “He came up head first, tried to grip the board, the board twisted round, and the fin hit him between the eyes.”

“I said, ‘Are you OK?’ “He said, “No, not really,””

Mrs. Luffman stated she did her best to keep him above the water. In addition, she stated, “He was simply not responding, and his hands fell away.” I was well aware that he had passed away.”

At the inquest, it was explained that others on boats heard Mrs. Luffman screaming and came over to try to save her husband before a coast guard rescue helicopter arrived and winched him out of the ocean.

He was rushed to Southampton General Hospital, where, despite attempts to revive him, he was proclaimed dead shortly after arrival.

Coroner Jason Pegg stated that a post-mortem investigation revealed that cardiac arrest brought on by a vasovagal crisis and immersion in water was the cause of death.

As he was putting the finishing touches on the story, he stated, “Mr. Luffman was unable to swim.” Because he had been afflicted with spondylitis for some time, he would experience difficulty moving.

Julian attempted to flip the paddle board around after paddling out to Mrs. Luffman. It was likely the first time he had attempted to accomplish something like that.”