Tragedy at Sea Underscores the Dangers of Yacht Racing

May 22, 2006 — -- The tragic death of a Dutch sailor after he was swept overboard during the extreme round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race raises troubling questions about yacht racing.

"You need to be a highly skilled sailor in order to sail at the level needed in this race," explained Chay Blyth, sailing expert and founder of Challenge Adventure Sailing.

Regardless of experience, the Volvo Ocean Race, also called the Everest of Sailing, underscored the many dangers sailors will risk in a bid to cross the finish line first.

"Every sailor is aware of the risks, and they relish the challenge involved," said Cameron Kelleher, press director of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Hans Horrevoets, 31, one of the most experienced crewmen on ABN AMRO Two, had sailed professionally for more than a decade.

Horrevoets, who died during the seventh leg of the race on the way to Portsmouth, England, from New York had competed in the 1997-1998 challenge and only joined the crew at the last minute when a sailor dropped out.

The boat, one of two sponsored by the Dutch bank ABN AMRO, was made up mostly of sailors under the age of 30, most of whom had never completed an around-the-world voyage. Despite the youngish crew, ABN AMRO Two managed to match the performance of its competitors, even setting a 24-hour speed record in the early hours of the race. After Horrevoets' death, the skipper Sebastien Josse praised the crew's search and rescue effort, commending it for acting with "utmost maturity."

The relative inexperience of the crew notwithstanding, the very nature of ocean racing lends itself to disasters at sea.

Before Horrevoets' tragic death, British sailor Tony Phillips was buried at sea after he was swept overboard during the 1989-1990 race. And in the 1973-74 inaugural race, three sailors died lost at sea forever.

Blyth, the first person to circumnavigate the globe westward against the current, said that the speed of the boats makes such accidents inevitable. "Honestly, this accident has been waiting to happen for the last two years," said Blyth.