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.
Tragedy at Sea
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.
His views are echoed by Paul Cayard, the American skipper of Pirates of the Caribbean, a competing yacht.
"I was feeling for him from the time I got word there was a man overboard," Cayard said. "I have always assumed that if you fall off one of these boats, that will be the end." It took 40 minutes for the crew to circle back and find Horreovoets' body after a wave swept him overboard as he trimmed a sail on deck.
Buckle Up
It remains to be seen whether Horrevoets was wearing a safety harness before he was pulled overboard. Although a harness is considered standard procedure during sailing, it hinders sailors in high-speed races like this one, as it hampers their mobility on deck.
Crews interpret safety in their own way.
Blyth insists that "our sailors have to wear harnesses during nighttime and, occasionally, during the day in case of extreme climatic conditions." Meanwhile, the press director of the Volvo Ocean Race, Kelleher refuses to prescribe such rules, saying only that "we expect our crews to use their common sense in these matters, whether it involves safety harnesses or other precautions."
Despite their differences, both agree that there should be no legislation. Kelleher maintains that "it's a common sense decision, and the crew should be left to their own devices."
Blyth says there are risks in all sports already bogged down by too many rules. "Let it be voluntary," he said.
In the meantime, the crew of ABN AMRO Two will weigh the risks of such an approach as it sails toward the finish of the seventh leg in Portsmouth, England, mourning its colleague. Horrevoets' body was transferred to a Royal Netherlands Navy frigate early this morning off the coast of England for repatriation in the Netherlands with a funeral planned in his hometown this week.