The following picture (link provided) clearly shows the position of the cleats that are used to secure the Valiant with two lines at the stern of Splendour.

You can see that to secure a dinghy with these lines all one needs to do is stand on the rear deck and adjust as needed at the corners. Not from the swim step. You don't go on the swim step to secure these lines.

You can also see that if someone as short as Natalie would even try to adjust these lines from the swim step she would have to reach over her head to do so and do it nearly blind because of the height and positioning of the cleats from the level of the swim step. Wagner's statement of "We believe she slipped and fell off the boat trying to secure a noisy dinghy" seems at the very least, questionable. A competent investigator would have asked the question.

The other thing this picture shows is just how close Dennis was to the two of them when their argument was carried out to the rear deck, he is a scant few feet away and in perfect eye and earshot of everything that would have transpired on that deck. He told us what he saw, he told us what he heard.

http://martirulli.blogspot.com/2010/05/splendour-dinghy-ropes.html

I see that I made a mistake about where I thought the cleats were positioned. Here is a much clearer color picture ( same picture ) that shows very clearly where the cleats are located. My assertion that someone Natalie's size would have to reach upward and over the the edge from the swimstep of the boat was inaccurate.

Having said that, it still shows that these lines are easily handled from the deck and that there is no reason to step onto the swim step to make any adjustments.

http://martirulli.blogspot.com/2010/01/splendour.html

Hey Creed are you aware that we are accused of being the same people or two people working together and writing filth or nasty crap on Simonebells blog and she said she traced the ip to clearwater florida?
She said it is you or me in her posts on imdb.
It aint me so she can call the Pope for all I care.