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Tasmanian Seafarers' Memorial
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Robert Ian Collins (1971)
The plaque reads ... 
Robert Ian Collins
Launceston
26.9.1954 - 8.1.1971
Robert with Maurice Philp died sailing to
Schouten Is, Freycinet Peninsula.
Rough sea capsized their skiff yacht "Gwen 12"
Robert found on beach,
Maurice lost at sea
Loving youngest son of Max & Beverley
Dear brother of Greg, John & Sue.
Robert Ian Collins was born in Launceston, Tasmania, the youngest son of Beverley and Rendall Max (Max) Collins, brother of Greg, John and Sue. He was only 16 years of age when he lost his life.
The Collins family had a holiday home at Coles Bay, on the East Coast's Freycinet Peninsula and many summer holidays were spent there enjoying swimming, fishing, boating, water-skiing, and walking etc. At every opportunity, Robert was in the water, diving off the rocks, swimming amongst the yellow kelp and sea-weed searching for the abundant crayfish and abalone with his knife or old screwdriver. He had saved up some money to buy a new wet-suit.
Robert had completed study at Prospect High School in December 1970,
and had just recently started work at Repco Engineering in Launceston
as an apprentice fitter/turner, before going again to Coles Bay.
Also there was the Philp family who were very close friends with the Collins family both at Coles Bay and Launceston. Young Maurice Philp was a sea scout and loved sailing. He had a "Gwen 12" class sailing dinghy or skiff, in which he and Robert went sailing on Tuesday early in January 1971 to spend a day or two on Schouten Island.
When they failed to return by the allotted day - the Friday, the alarm was raised concerning their safety. They had been seen by Mr. Philp on the Wednesday in good spirits and health, and by fishermen on several occasions, sailing backwards and forwards across Schouten Passage, being last seen about 6.30 pm on the 8th, just off the sand spit, the most north-westerly point of Schouten Island.
The fishermen considered the conditions off the sand spit at this time were particularly dangerous, there being a south-easterly swell coming up the western side of Schouten Island and a north-easterly swell coming through the Passage. These two were meeting off the sand spit causing turbulent and tumbling water. In the fishermen's opinion, the youths may have got in too close to this point under light sailing conditions and capsized.
Tragically both lads lost their lives as a result of some such mishap with Robert's body being recovered the next day on the western side of Schouten Island, fully clothed and wearing two buoyancy aids. Maurice however, was never found.
The inquest found that Robert had "died of asphyxia resulting from the inhalation of sand, brought about by misadventure while sailing a dinghy in Tasmanian waters."