18 May 2006—Portsmouth,UK
ABN AMRO TWO crew ‘devastated’
Earlier this morning, Hans Horrevoets (NED) was
washed overboard from the deck of ABN AMRO TWO as they raced across the
North Atlantic on their way to Portsmouth, UK, in leg seven of the Volvo
Ocean Race. The young crew, who have sailed this boat so well, are
devastated.
The boat was sailing downwind in 25 – 30 knots of wind under indexsail,
fractional spinnaker and staysail. Sebastien Josse, skipper of ABN AMRO
TWO, was at the helm, Hans was trimming the spinnaker sheet, Nick Bice,
Andrew Lewis and Lucas Brun were also on deck. A wave washed back down
the deck and when the water cleared Hans was no longer on deck.
“We are all devastated by the events that took place this morning and
all our thoughts are for Hans’ family,” said skipper Sebastien Josse. “I
would like to stress that throughout the whole man overboard procedure,
the crew handled themselves calmly, professionally and with the utmost
maturity. It is with deep regret that we were unable to resuscitate
Hans,” he commented.
ABN AMRO TWO navigator Simon Fisher explains what happened:
“Immediately Seb hailed ‘man overboard’ and called everyone on deck while
I reindexed below to put in place our man overboard procedures and GPS
positioning. The spinnaker was immediately dropped, the staysail furled
and the starboard dagger board lowered. The engine was switched on and
we attempted to motor-sail back on a reciprocal course. Due to the strong
headwinds it was decided we drop the index, and go under motor alone as it
was difficult to indextain a direct course to the man overboard position.
“Once Hans was located, Simeon Tienpoint put on his dry-suit, harness and
diving gear in order to assist in the recovery. Once back on board
Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK was notified that we had a major medical
emergency and asked to stand by. In the meantime Hans was moved
downstairs. No pulse was found so CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation)
was initiated by the crew’s medics George Peet and Nick Bice, assisted by
Andrew Lewis, Lucas Brun and Luke Malloy, all of whom are medically
trained for such emergencies. CPR was stopped at 0420 UTC.”
Speaking from race headquarters, Volvo Ocean Race CEO Glenn Bourke said:
“All of us at the Volvo Ocean Race are deeply saddened to learn of the
loss of Hans Horrevoets. At this time our thoughts are with Hans’ family
and friends, his fellow crew members and all the members of TEAM ABN
AMRO.
“Ocean racing carries inherent risks and we do our utmost to minimize
those risks with the mandatory safety equipment we have on board.
However,when an accident like this occurs it is a shock to everyone associated
with the race. The Volvo Ocean Race family is a close-knit community and
we will all lend whatever support is needed at this tragic time.”
In Holland, Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen, managing director of TEAM ABN
AMRO said: “We are all shocked and devastated by this terrible news and
our thoughts now are very much with Hans’ family. We are all aware of the
risks that sailors face but nothing can prepare you for this kind of
tragedy. My thoughts are also with the crew who I understand behaved in
the most professional manner and reacted immediately and I wish them a
safe passage home.”
ABN AMRO TWO is 1420 nautical miles from Portsmouth. The boat is under
sail and the crew are making their way towards landfall as quickly as
possible where a decision will be made on their further participation in
the race.
If you wish to send condolences, please send your messages to
http://team.abnamro.com/web/show/id=102854
For further information, please contact:
Cameron Kelleher PR Director at Volvo Ocean Race headquarters:
Tel: +44 1489 554 828, Mob: +44 7795 185 430
Email: cameron.kelleher@volvooceanrace.org
Camilla Green Press Officer Team ABN AMRO
Mob: +44 7970 746 482
Email: Camilla@pitchpr.co.uk
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