British Olympian Andrew Simpson dies in sailing accident

Simpson, 36, was sailing with the Swedish Artemis Racing team in San Francisco Bay when the yacht turned over and trapped him underneath.

The sailor, known as “Bart”, was in a crew of 11 when the 72ft vessel overturned at 12:30pm local time (8:30pm GMT). The cause of the accident is still unclear, and it was reported by his team on Thursday night.

Simpson was trapped underwater for about 10 minutes, Artemis said, and doctors both in the water and on the shore could not revive him after he was freed from the wreckage.

A host of names from the sailing community paid tribute to Simpson, who won a gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and a silver at the 2012 London games.

He was training for the America’s Cup, the oldest major international sporting event, and the high-speed AC72 catamarans were only introduced to the competition this year.

Paul Cayard, Artemis’ chief executive, said the entire team was “devastated” by what had happened.

“We obviously had a tragic day today on the bay and our thoughts and prayers are with Bart Simpson’s – Andrew Simpson’s – family, his wife and kids, and also with the rest of the team-mates,” he said.

“It is a shocking experience to go through and we have a lot to deal with in the next few days in terms of assuring everybody’s well-being.

“The boat itself is under control, but it is certainly not the first of our concerns. We are focused on the people. That is what we are working with and on and we will give you more information when we are able to.”

‘Potential death traps’

The fatal accident follows a dramatic incident last October, when the Australian Olympic gold medallist Tom Slingsby was capsized in his Team Oracle catamaran in San Francisco Bay. And while the cause of Simpson’s accident is still unknown, both incidents have raised questions about the safety of the AC72 catamarans, which can reach speeds of up to 46mph.

If they can prove fatal to an Olympian, how dangerous are they for amateurs?

“A number of people said when the October crash happened that these are potential death traps and this was an accident waiting to happen,” said Gael Pawson, editor of Yachts and Yachting magazine.

“They are 72 feet long and sail at really high speeds which creates safety issues. These boats lift up as they sail and fly above the water. As soon as something hits, even clipping a wave, it will flip right over. They are sailing boats right on the edge of control and are pushed to the limit.”

There are always added risks when the boats used in a competition are changed, said Matthew Sheahan, Yachting World‘s racing and technical editor.

“Certainly teams have been, and continue to be, worried by the prospect of a capsize which in a boat of this size, 72ft long, can be very serious as we’ve now seen,” he told Channel 4 News. “Safety and specialised crew training has been a big part of this Cup cycle.”

He added: “Until the cause of the accident is discovered it is impossible to say what implications the accident will have for the event.”

Tributes

A statement from Sir Ben Ainslie’s Oracle team read: “Today is a sad day for all of us in the sailing community. Andrew Simpson was a great person, a terrific sailor, and a good friend to all of our team. Our thoughts are with his family and the entire Artemis team. He will be dearly missed.”

Sir Clive Woodward, British Olympic Association director of sport at London 2012, was another to pay tribute, tweeting: “Totally shocked to hear Olympic star Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson died after Swedish America’s cup catamaran capsizes – thoughts with his family.”

Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy tweeted: “Shocked to hear of the death of Andrew Simpson, Olympic Champ sailor. Met him a number of times, great guy. My thoughts are with his family.”

In a message on Twitter, Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “Saddened by death of Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson. My thoughts are with his family and team mates at this tragic time.”

Simpson leaves behind a wife, Leah, and two young children.

Tragic news about sailing, gold Olympic medalist, Andrew Simpson, our thoughts are with his family

— Team GB (@TeamGB) May 10, 2013