Skipper Matthew Reynolds and his unlicensed passenger Percy Small have both been sentenced to at least five years jail over a boat crash on Sydney Harbour which killed six people.
Their trial was told Reynolds was intoxicated when, minutes before the crash, he handed over the wheel of the workboat to Small, who was affected by alcohol, cannabis and cocaine.
Reynolds, 33, was accused of failing to supervise Small, 26, and failing to keep a proper lookout before the vessel collided with a fishing boat in the early hours of May 1, 2008.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Ashlei Ayres, 32, Alexander Rumiz, 22, Jessica Holloway, 25, Elisabeth Holder, 20, Stacey Wright, 21, and Alex Nikakis, 30, died as a result of the crash.
Reynolds was convicted of six counts of manslaughter over the deaths and Small was convicted of six counts of dangerous navigation causing death.
Justice Grove noted that the crimes were not planned or intended by either man.
"Neither of them intended the collision to happen, neither of them intended the deaths ... but the law requests that even so, they must answer for their capabilities," Justice Grove said in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.
He set a maximum term of seven and a half years for both men.
Both stood calmly in the courtroom packed with relatives of the victims to hear their sentences before being taken down to the cells.
The pair will be eligible for parole in 2015.
