Man overboard accidents do happen, and quite often if you follow latest events, especially at Volvo Ocean Race 2018.
Some of them with a fairy tail ending and some with loses of loved and respectful men. This is the worst that could happen to anyone, so that is why we have always to learn, from those crucial mistakes made by others.
Long story short, i have noticed two factors that were mentioned after the incident that might have been crucial:
- Weather conditions were 35-45 knots with 4 to 5 meter seas with showers reducing visibility.
- John Fisher was on deck, in the cockpit. At the time, he was moving forward to tidy up the FR0 sheet and had therefore unclipped his tether as was standard procedure when moving between positions.
Having in mind such winds, even you are a professional, never stay unclipped.
For full incident statement please read official page
John Fisher profile
Image source: http://www.volvooceanrace.com
