22.05.2006
Royal Netherlands Navy takes Hans Horrevoets home
Portsmouth, UK, 22 May 2006-- At 0837 GMT this morning off the English coast near Falmouth, the body of Hans Horrevoets was transferred to a Royal Netherlands Naval frigate from ABN AMRO TWO.
In winds of 25 knots, French skipper Sebastien Josse and his crew bid an emotional farewell to their much loved friend and team mate, holding a minute’s silence as Hans was taken off ABN AMRO TWO in a RIB to the Dutch frigate, HNLMS Van Galen. His body will now be taken back to his home town of Terheijden, in the Netherlands for repatriation and a funeral with family and friends. The transfer was achieved without any problems and ABN AMRO TWO have now resumed racing en route to Portsmouth.
Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, CEO of TEAM ABN AMRO, who will meet Hans in Holland and accompany him back to his partner and family, commented, “I am pleased that Hans can now return home to his partner, family and friends and the grieving process can begin. We have had tremendous support from the Volvo Ocean Race, the British Royal Navy, UK authorities and especially the Royal Netherlands Navy to guarantee a successful operation and to ensure Hans’ body is returned to Holland as quickly as possible. We would like to thank everyone involved for their cooperation.
“I have so much respect for Seb Josse and his crew for the mature and professional way they have handled all the events that have arisen on this dramatic leg. The seamanship displayed to recover Hans and then go to the rescue of fellow competitors is astounding. They are now continuing onto Portsmouth in the spirit of the race, as Hans would have wished.”
The HNLMS Van Galen is a multipurpose frigate of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The ship, with her 150 crewmembers, was in the area for six weeks training with the British Royal Navy.
Speaking from ABN AMRO TWO, British navigator Simon Fisher added, “It was a sad moment to see Hans leave the boat, but also a relief that he can now go home to his family. The last few days have been incredibly tough on everyone, but we are determined to cross the finish line as part of this race. We will finish this leg for Hans. Although conditions remain difficult, the crew is doing well, and we are of course all looking forward to seeing our friends and family back on land.”
Just prior to Hans Horrevoets being transferred off the boat, the crew of movistar also left ABN AMRO TWO and returned to shore in Falmouth. This transfer was completed at 8.15 GMT. Bouwe Bekking’s crew had been rescued by Seb Josse’s men when the Spanish boat was abandoned because of keel problems and deteriorating weather. The movistar crew are now all safely back on dry land and heading for Portsmouth.
Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Glenn Bourke, who was in Falmouth earlier today, said: “We are hugely indebted to Seb Josse and the crew of ABN AMRO TWO for their heroic role in the safe recovery and delivery of the movistar crew members to Falmouth. It can’t have been easy for Seb and the guys in the tragic circumstances in which they found themselves. It is measure of their courage and professionalism that they stood by the stricken movistar until the weather conditions allowed a successful transfer and then ensured their safe passage to Falmouth.
“It is a great relief to the ABN AMRO TWO crew that Hans is now on the way to his homeland where his family and friends are waiting and our thoughts are with them at this moment.”
Speaking of movistar, Bourke commented, ‘I was immensely impressed with how level-headed and rational Bouwe Bekking remained throughout the whole process of abandonment and rescue. He took the agonising decision to abandon movistar and only he knows how tough that was. A hard call at the right time and always with the welfare of his crew as his priority.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the British and Netherlands Royal Navy, the Falmouth Coast Guard and the other rescue organisations for the expert manner in which they have dealt with the entire rescue operation,” he concluded.
There will be two press conferences in Portsmouth tomorrow,<(B> Tuesday 23 May. At 1000 local time, movistar Racing Team will host a press conference followed at 1100 by TEAM ABN AMRO.
ABN AMRO TWO resumed racing at 09:54 GMT today and is expected to cross the finish line in Portsmouth at around 1925 GMT tonight. At present, the yacht is 3.5 miles off Portland Bill on the Dorset coast.
LEG SEVEN LEADERBOARD – SUBJECT TO RATIFICATION
Leg Position
Yacht
Leg Points
Scoring Gate Points
Total Leg Points
Arrival Time
Elapsed Time
Overall Race Points
Position Overall
1
ABN1
7.0
3.5
10.5
20/05/06 23:30:42
009d 06h 30m 42s
81.0
1
2
ERIC
6.0
3
9.0
21/05/06 12:26:39
009d 19h 26m 39s
43.5
6
3
POTC
5.0
2.5
7.5
21/05/06 12:54:20
009d 19h 54m 20s
55.0
2
4
BRA1
4.0
2
6.0
21/05/06 14:30:57
009d 21h 30m 57s
48.0
3
5
AUS1
3.0
1.5
4.5
22/05/06 10:16:32
010d 17h 16m 32s
7.0
7
LEG SEVEN DAY 12, 1600 GMT POSITION REPORT
Leg Position
Yacht
Latitude
Longitude
DTF
SMG
Projected Leg Points
Scoring Gate Points
Total Projected Leg Points
ETA
Projected Overall Race Points
Projected Position Overall
6
ABN2
50 28.78N
002 32.19W
00056
18.1
2.0
1
3.0
22/05/06 19:25:28
45.0
5
7
MOVI
48 42.56N
013 26.16W
-
-
ABN1 ABN AMRO ONE
ABN2 ABN AMRO TWO
BRA1 Brasil 1
ERIC Ericsson Racing Team
MOVI movistar
POTC Pirates of the Caribbean
DTF: distance to finish, SMG: Speed made good, DTL: distance to leader,
DTLC: distance to leader change; the difference between the distance from the boat to the leader taken at the time of the last six hour poll, and the distance from the boat to the leader at the previous poll
For further information, please contact:
Cameron KelleherPR Director at race headquarters:
Tel: +44 1489 554 828, Mob: +44 7795 185 430
Email: cameron.kelleher@volvooceanrace.org mailto:cameron.kelleher@volvooceanrace.org
Sacha Oswald, Press Officer in Portsmouth:
Tel: +447816 275 498
Email: sacha.oswald@volvooceanrace.org mailto:sacha.oswald@volvooceanrace.org
Lizzie GreenPress Officer at race headquarters:
Tel: +44 1489 554 832, Mob: +44 7801 185 320
Email: lizzie.green@volvooceanrace.org mailto:lizzie.green@volvooceanrace.org
Sophie Luther Press Assistant at race headquarters
Mob: +44 7956 285548
Email: sophie.luther@volvooceanrace.org mailto:sophie.luther@volvooceanrace.org
Images
Royalty free images for editorial use are available from the Image Archive at http://media.vemuk.com http://media.vemuk.com/ For assistance, please contact: Picture Desk Manager Tel: Mobile: +44 7801 185 320
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