British sailor dies in round-the-world yacht race

Brian D

Brian D

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Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
LONDON – Organizers of an international yacht race say a British sailor has died after he was swept overboard in rough seas.

Simon Speirs, a 60-year-old retired lawyer, was sailing for Great Britain in the Clipper Round the World Race. The fleet was sailing from South Africa to Australia on Saturday when Speirs was washed overboard into the Southern Ocean during gale force winds.

The race organizers said in a statement that Speirs fell overboard despite being clipped on to the 70-foot (21-meter) yacht with his safety tether. Fellow crew members pulled him back on the boat in 36 minutes and tried but failed to revive him. The cause of death was believed to be drowning.

Organizers said Speirs was given a sea burial Sunday.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/19/british-sailor-dies-in-round-world-yacht-race.html

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A sea burial? Wouldn't the authorities be notified and his remains removed from the yacht? Wonder if there are any legalities of a sea burial during a yacht race?
 
R

Rick486

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Oct 1, 2007
1,858
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
How the hell did it take 36 minutes to recover the guy? Tell you what, my guess is they didn't want to heave to and pull him in. They wanted to keep the boat speed up. Just sayin'....
 
Alansails

Alansails

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Oct 3, 2011
827
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
Don't want to sail with them....
and in the Southern Ocean no less...
I can hear it now "Keep the speed up, we will get him"
SAD
 
Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,002
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Brian D said:
A sea burial? Wouldn't the authorities be notified and his remains removed from the yacht?
Click to expand
Really? Out in the middle of the Southern Ocean? Who would go and fetch him--and who's jurisdiction would it be? Racers assume all of the risks for participation in a yacht race, etc.
 
Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

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Jul 27, 2011
5,002
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Rick486 said:
How the hell did it take 36 minutes to recover the guy? Tell you what, my guess is they didn't want to heave to and pull him in. They wanted to keep the boat speed up. Just sayin'....
Click to expand
If the guy was being dragged at 20 kt (or however fast those things go now) he was drowned in less than 4 min. Also, it might have been at night, there might have been short crew on deck, etc., to delay a safe maneuver to stop the boat.
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
9,892
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
not enough room in refrig to keep the poor dude, so burial at sea would be SOP.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Sad.
Someone dies in this pay-to-play sailboat ‘race’ every time. They even bill this event As ‘no Sailing experience necessary’. Only thing that needs to happen is your check clears.
 
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C

Calif. Ted

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Jun 8, 2004
2,855
Catalina 320 Dana Point
I wonder if "possible burial at sea" is part of your "crew" contract, that seems curious, I'd keep him onboard until the family could make their wishes known.
I'm not familiar with this event, perhaps if they do sea burials every year it's just SOP's. Grandad went to sea little Timmy, and never returned ?
People go numb and comatose real fast in cold water (50's F.) 36 minutes does not seem unreasonable in gale force winds, takes a bit of effort to suddenly come to a stop in a gale, far too long for the victim of course.
 
jssailem

jssailem

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Oct 22, 2014
21,089
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
It’s not just about having a tether. You need to rig the tether so when your at the end of your rope your still on the boat.

Gale and sea conditions were surly contributing factors. Buried at sea only makes sense. No way to keep a body on a boat like that. Likely no body bags available.
Don’t all sailors think, if I have to check out being out on the water would be better than in a traffic accident.
 
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Johnb

Johnb

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Jan 22, 2008
1,421
Hunter 37-cutter Richmond CA
By the time you had kept him for a week the other members of the crew would be jumping overboard.
 
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shemandr

shemandr

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Jan 1, 2006
7,069
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I think it's a bit reckless and judgmental to say that the reason for the 36 minute recovery is not wanting to slow the boat or otherwise lose position in the race. I've never sailed in the Southern Ocean nor offshore very much and would be very slow to judge someone's else's performance in those challenging conditions.
Regarding the burial, I would hope they could have worked out something better. I hope they are not still racing.
 
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bawlmer

bawlmer

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Sep 15, 2013
707
Catalina 270 Baltimore
Actually she was the second sailor to die on that same boat in the same race. They kept going anyway. From what I read in the article the only pro on each yacht is the skipper.
 
Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
bawlmer said:
Actually she was the second sailor to die on that same boat in the same race. They kept going anyway. From what I read in the article the only pro on each yacht is the skipper.
Click to expand
someone died last race.
 
Ned Ludd

Ned Ludd

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Apr 4, 2016
201
Newport 28 Richardson Marina
The pay to play scenario on boats of this level is a bit reckless, watching some of the other extreme offshore races the crews are typically young and extremely athletic not 60 year olds. I agree with
jssailem said:
It’s not just about having a tether. You need to rig the tether so when your at the end of your rope your still on the boat.
Click to expand
completely.

There may have been a medical condition we are not aware of, a stroke, heart attack or other condition MAY have been responsible for him getting swept overboard in the first place. I know it took 25 minutes in daylight on a lake in good conditions for a friend of mine to get rescued in a MOB situation, 35 min in the open ocean doesn't seem that bad. That's where the motto "fall off the boat and you are dead" came from. A burial at sea makes complete sense (the article stated it was conducted according to family wishes).

A sad day for our favorite sport but if I had to go on a specific day, dying while doing 20+ knots in the roaring forties would be better than in a hospital room with tubes in every orifice.
 
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Jackdaw

Jackdaw

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Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
bawlmer said:
Actually she was the second sailor to die on that same boat in the same race. They kept going anyway. From what I read in the article the only pro on each yacht is the skipper.
Click to expand
Think the watch captains are pros as well.
 
Will Gilmore

Will Gilmore

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Oct 19, 2017
7,745
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
He had 40 years coastal sailing experience. Not a round the world racing resume but not a complete noob.
One of the question they are looking at is why his tether didn't keep him on board.
My condolences to his family.
- Will (Dragonfly)
 
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