Feared dead...dad swept into wild sea in round-world race
A BRITISH yachtsman was feared dead last night after he was swept overboard during a round-the-world race.
Father-of-two John Fisher, 47, was reported lost at sea after he was washed from his team’s 65ft yacht in the Southern Ocean, more than 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn, South America.
Experienced yachtsman Mr Fisher was fulfilling his dream to be in the Volvo Ocean Race.
He was on the Team Sun Hung Kai-sponsored Scallywag, on the New Zealand to Brazil leg of the race, when he vanished in gale-force winds.
Devastated
Mr Fisher was on watch and wearing survival gear when the drama happened at about 11pm local time on Monday.
Crewmates turned the yacht around and mounted a desperate 12-hour search for Mr Fisher but could not find him.
A ship was diverted to the scene after a Mayday alert but the location is so remote it was unlikely to arrive until today.
Volvo Ocean Race president Richard Brisius said: “As sailors and race organisers, losing a crew member at sea is a tragedy we don’t ever want to contemplate.
“We are devastated and our thoughts are with John’s family, friends and teammates.” Mr Fisher comes from a sailing family in Southampton but has been living in Australia with wife Kirsten, 46, and their teenage children Ryan and Amy. He is a member of a sailing club based at Christies Beach, Adelaide.
The club’s commodore Marc Read described Mr Fisher as having a passion for sailing which was “second to none”.
He added of Mr Fisher: “Full of fun, full of life...when he was on your boat, you had a good time.”
He said Mr Fisher had wanted to take part in the race for a long time, viewing it as a “holy grail”.
Mr Brisius said: “Given the cold water temperature and the extreme sea state, along with the time that has now passed since John went overboard, we must now presume that he has been lost at sea.”