The international sailing community is shocked to hear of yesterday's tragic accident in which the 80-foot sailboat PriceWaterhouseCoopers struck a reef and skipper Andrew Short and crew member Sally Gordon died.
The boat was sailing in the 92-mile nighttime Flinders Island Race off New South Wales, and reportedly rounding Flinders when without warning in breaking waves it struck a reef. Grounded, at the mercy of strong waves, the boat spun and was dismasted, while 2-meter waves broke over the cockpit. Short and Gordon were swept overboard into the dark water.
The rest of the crew managed to escape by leaping overboard after another big wave lifted the boat toward the island.
It is too early to know why the boat had gotten so close to the reef while rounding the island. Short was a very experienced sailor and racer and must have had a chartplotter [LINK] on board to show their position, though electronics can always fail. He reportedly was holding onto the wheel when the big wave struck, ripping out the wheel as it took him overboard. Gordon too was an experienced crew would likely have been tethered in unless she had released the tether in an effort to save the boat after it struck. But with extreme forces, this safety equipment too can fail.
While the sailing community mourns their loss, we know we will learn more about the accident after investigation--and what we learn will hopefully help save other lives in the future.
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