The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE two sons of a British mother who drowned off Bimini watched as people tried to revive her, after she had held one of them in the water until he was rescued.

Leanne Gregory, 36, of Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, “didn’t have the energy to save herself” after a freak wave swept the boat away from her, her husband, Nathan, wrote in a GoFundMe appeal.

The couple were holidaying in The Bahamas as an early celebration for their 10th wedding anniversary in December.

“My boys had to witness something nobody should ever have to see of any age,” Mr Gregory wrote on Facebook, “but they know Mum died an absolute hero.”

The family had been snorkelling near the southern point of the island on Tuesday, October 20, when a strong current swept both boys away, police said. Their mother went in after them and was also carried off.

In the GoFundMe appeal, which he set up for his sons, Mr Gregory described his wife as his “one and only” and said they had been together for 22 years, having been childhood sweethearts.

“We had our whole lives ahead of us, and it has all been taken away,” he wrote. “This loss is unimaginable for our family; she was our foundation, our support; she made us who we are.”

He said they were both hard-working and that the family relied on two incomes.

“We have never asked for a thing from anyone; everything we built together was earned, but in a situation like this I just need my boys to feel secure,” he wrote.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I’ve known her since infant school. We first got together when we were 14...so 22 years.

“There are no words I can use to describe Leanne, same as everyone she has ever known. She was the purest of people, the most generous, kind and generous person who ever walked the Earth.

“She was the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the foundation of our entire family.”

Mr Gregory said he was grateful his sons had survived. He thanked those who rescued them, and a woman who helped try to revive his wife when the boat returned. He said she would remain loved by everyone who knew her.

Linty Stuart, owner of L&A Water Taxi, told ZNS that he captained the boat that pulled the family from the water after his crew spotted people waving frantically in the distance. He said waves of seven to eight feet almost tipped his vessel over, and the strong current and big seas made it difficult to reach the mother. ZNS reported that the family was visiting Bimini as part of a cruise.

According to police, officers at the Alice Town Police Station were told shortly after 10am that a woman was unresponsive at the North Bimini Ferry Dock, where CPR was reportedly administered. By the time officers arrived, she had been taken to a local clinic. A doctor there pronounced her dead despite efforts to save her.

The Department of Meteorology had warned of near-gale conditions, moderate to large swells and a high risk of rip currents across the northern Bahamas that day.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was in contact with local authorities and supporting the family.

Her death is the latest in a string of drownings in Bimini’s waters. In May, a 69-year-old American tourist died after he was found floating motionless during a snorkelling excursion about four nautical miles south of South Bimini. In February 2025, Bimini recorded three drownings in a single week, including an 85-year-old snorkeller who became unresponsive off Ocean Cay.

By Sunday, the GoFundMe appeal had raised £10,763 of its £20,000 goal from about 354 donations.

Police said foul play is not suspected. An autopsy is expected to determine the exact cause of death, and the investigation continues.