Simon Speirs, from Bristol, was buried at sea after falling into Southern Ocean during Clipper race in gale force winds

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A 60-year-old former solicitor from Bristol has been buried at sea after being swept overboard in the Southern Ocean during the Clipper round-the-world yacht race.

Simon Speirs was a crew member on the yacht Great Britain, which was in sixth place in the leg between South Africa and Australia. The incident occurred on day 18 of the third race of the 13-stage competition.

Speirs, who had more than 40 years’ experience as a dinghy sailor, was helping to change sails on the foredeck of the 21-metre (70ft) yacht when he was washed overboard in gale-force winds.

Despite being clipped on with a safety tether, he became separated from the yacht, race organisers said.

The crew got Speirs back on board within 36 minutes and CPR was administered by three medically trained crew, including a GP.

“However, Simon sadly never regained consciousness and was pronounced deceased,” organisers said in a statement. “The cause of death is unconfirmed at this time but thought to be by drowning.

“At the time of the incident, Simon was clipped on, wearing his lifejacket, which included an AIS beacon, as well as approved waterproof ocean oilskins.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Simon Speirs was a crew member on the yacht Great Britain, seen here in Cape Town at the start of the third race. Photograph: Nic Bothma/EPA

A spokesperson for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said it was investigating the death and would meet the yacht in Fremantle, Western Australia.

The race co-founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said a new type of tether was being used in the race but that something had “gone wrong”.

“Whether it is a type failure or a one-off failure – we won’t know that until it has been examined,” he said.

Competitors have been told to use both clips on their tethers as an extra precaution in the meantime.

Speirs was given a sea burial in a Christian service led by the yacht’s skipper and which was followed at home by his family.

“Our deepest thoughts are with his family and all those who knew him,” race organisers said.

The Clipper Race (@ClipperRace) Racing has taken a back seat over the past 24 hours for the Clipper Race fleet following the tragedy on board CV30 yesterday. We want to thank everyone who has sent messages of condolence and support for Simon’s family, friends, crew and the fleet https://t.co/GIdNSK47xc

Speirs had been crewing Great Britain since the race began in the UK on 20 August. The yacht is currently about 1,500 miles off Fremantle.

The incident follows the deaths of two crew members in the 2015-16 Clipper race.

Sarah Young, 40, from London, was swept into the Pacific Ocean by a wave as she tended to the mainsail in high winds aboard IchorCoal on 1 April 2016. She had not been tethered and was recovered from the sea after spending about an hour in the water. She could not be resuscitated and was also buried at sea, a race spokeswoman said.

In the same race the preceding September, IchorCoal crew member Andrew Ashman, 49, from Kent, died after being knocked unconscious while off the coast of Portugal.

A MAIB report into the two deaths in April 2017 recommended that the race organiser, Clipper Ventures, change its procedures so that skippers “ensure safe working practices are maintained continuously on board”.

It also recommended that Clipper Ventures develop measures to reduce the risks of crew falling overboard “to as low as reasonably practicable”.

Steven Clinch, the chief inspector of marine accidents, said earlier this year that Clipper Ventures had done much to address the safety issues raised in the report.

Ashman’s death was the first in the 20-year history of the 20,000-mile race, which competitors pay almost £50,000 to take part in. Each yacht has a professional skipper, and although crew members do not have to be qualified sailors they must undergo a training programme.