ruled an accident at a coroner's inquest yesterday.

Calvin Troy Eugene Douglas was pulled from the sea opposite Stepney Lane in Pembroke around 9.20 a.m. on July 19.

An autopsy report by the hospital's chief pathologist Dr. John Winnick concluded: "Death was not natural, but due to sea water drowning''. The report said there were no signs of drugs, poisons or external injuries.

In Police statements, friends of the deceased said they noticed "a complete change'' in his behaviour just days before his death.

They said Douglas, who used to "keep his thoughts to himself'', suddenly began to speak with fervour about God and religion, repeatedly warning his younger friends "not to be like him''.

Mr. David Card testified that Douglas, who was nude, swam about 100 metres from the shore using only his arms. He saw Douglas submerge briefly, "lunge upward'' out of the water and submerge again. When he realised Douglas was not coming back up, Card ran to his nearby home and had his wife call 911.

Card and a passing motorist swam out to the area where he had last seen Douglas. By the time they located him, Police had arrived.

Douglas was found lying on the sea bottom by Pc. Michael A. Harvey, who pulled him to the surface. Despite efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital at 9.45 a.m.

Coroner, the Wor. John Judge ruled the drowning accidental because "there is no evidence as to why he drowned''.