The dramatic and traumatic leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean race has come to an end with the finish earlier today of the boat ABN AMRO Two. Before it was over AMRO Two was to play a major part in the most difficult events of the leg.

The crew demonstrated remarkable seamanship when a member of their crew was washed overboard. In the dark, with high winds and heavy seas in the middle of the north Atlantic, they had the crew member on board in just under 40 minutes. An amazing accomplishment in its own right. Unfortunately Hans Horrevoets did not not survive the accident.

Two days later in increasingly bad weather with winds approaching 50 knots and expected to increase the yacht Movistar suffered significant keel damage and the crew was forced to abandon ship. The nearest boat to them was ABN AMRO Two. AMRO Two took the crew of Movistar on board and continued on with the race.

As they reached the coast of Great Britain, a boat arrived to bring the Movistar crew to shore. Shortly afterward a Royal Neatherlands Navy frigate that was training with the British Royal Navy met up with AMRO Two and took the body of Hans Horrevoets to transport him home.

When they reached the dock after finishing the ABN AMRO team did a superb job in keeping the media away from the crew. A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow and it is expected the team will announce if they will be continuing on in the race.

For their tragic loss they deserve our sympathy. For their outstanding seamanship they deserve all of our respect.

Technorati Tags: Sailing, Volvo-Ocean-Race

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 10:36 AM | No Comments | Add Comment