Richard Brisius, the President of the Volvo Ocean Race, informed that one of the race’s sailors, John Fisher, from Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, fell overboard and is now presumed to have been lost at sea.
When the Race Control for the Volvo Ocean Race was informed of a man overboard situation by Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, coordinated with the team as well as the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, who have located a ship and diverted it towards the scene. But at current speeds it remains over a day away.
The Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag team performed an exhaustive search for several hours in extremely difficult weather conditions, but they were unable to recover their teammate.
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The remaining crew are reported safe.
Given the cold water temperature and the extreme sea state, along with the time that has now passed since he went overboard, we must now presume that John has been lost at sea.
Search and Rescue operation continues for the Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag sailor. Namely, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is leading efforts to recover John Fisher (UK). The MRCC has requested a ship, nearly 400 nautical miles away, divert to the scene.
The wind in the area at the time was a strong 35-knot westerly, with inclement sea state, and weather conditions are expected to worsen in the coming hours.
