Update on tragedy on ABN Amro Two

by Camilla Green/Sail-World on 18 May 2006 Hans Horrevoets, a crew member aboard ABN Amro Two, one of the two ABN Amro sponsored yachts racing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005 – 2006, died earlier this morning after being washed overboard.

ABN Amro Two was sailing downwind in 25 – 30 knots of wind under main, fractional spinnaker and staysail. Seb Josse, Skipper of ABN Amro Two was at the helm, Hans, 32 of the Netherlands was trimming the spinnaker sheet, Nick Bice, Andrew Lewis and Lucas Brun were also on deck. The boat nosedived down a wave and water came washing back down the deck, when the water cleared Hans was no longer on deck.

ABN AMRO TWO navigator Simon Fisher explains what happened:

'Immediately Seb hailed ‘man overboard’ and called everyone on deck while I remained 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 main, and go under motor alone as it was difficult to maintain 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.'

ABN AMRO TWO Skipper Sebastien Josse said, 'We are all devastated by the events that took place this morning and all our thoughts are for Hans’ family. Throughout the whole MOB (man overboard) procedure the whole crew handled themselves calmly, professionally and with the utmost maturity. It is with deep regret that we were unable to resuscitate Hans.'

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.'

Glenn Bourke, Chief Executive Volvo Ocean Race said, 'All of us at the Volvo Ocean Race are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of ABN AMRO TWO crew member 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.'

The crew is no longer in racing mode but are making their way to Portsmouth as quickly as possible and will make a decision on further participation in the race during the Portsmouth stopover.

Horrevoets had been a professional sailor for more than 10 years. He was a trimmeraboard BrunelSunergy in the 1997-98 Whitbread Around the World Race.

In this 2005-2006 Volvo race, he was a late addition to the sailing crew of ABN AMRO TWO, but had earlier worked with the Dutch team to select promising young sailors for its Number two boat.

Horrevoets was the oldest member of the ABN AMRO TWO crew, and the only one who was married with a child, an infant daughter.