Treadigraph,
2 people died in the Catalina crash in the Solent, the Mayor of Southampton and an airline worker from Eastleigh airport.
The Catalina has 2 pins that lock the front of the nose gear doors in place through a bulkhead. Those used as regular water bombers were often modified to have a 'flag' window that would be visible to the crew as a final check that the door pins were in place before operating on water. The original Plane Sailing one was never a water bomber so did not have this mod.
A water landing with possibly unsecure nose gears doors would not be a good idea.