With he sad loss of a crew member last November from a Clipper Race boat, even though he was wearing his harness and had the tether clipped, in people begn to seriously questin what could have gone wrong. Here’s the answer as published in Sail-World.
The British Marine Accident Investigation Branch has released an urgent safety advisory bulletin following the fatal man overboard incident during the current Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. The incident took place in the Indian Ocean on November 18, when British solicitor Simon Speirs (60) went overboard from the yacht CV30 after being swept off the bow by a wave. Wind conditions at the time were 20kts gusting 40kts.
He was wearing the correct safety equipment at the time including a safety harness and tether which was attached to the boat. The tether failed under load and broke. While Simon Speirs was recovered 36 minutes later, he was unable to be revived and was buried at sea some 1500 nm from Fremantle. Read more.
