British sailor buried at sea

A BRITISH businesswoman who died after being swept into the Pacific Ocean while competing in a global yacht race was buried at sea yesterday. Company owner Sarah Young, 40, was swept overboard by a large wave as she attended to a mainsail aboard her 70ft yacht on Friday.

Crewmates on the IchorCoal recovered the amateur sailor’s body an hour later. It is believed Miss Young, pictured, died of exposure after succumbing to the cold water.

Organisers of the Clipper round-theworld race decided to bury Miss Young at sea after consulting with her partner, family, friends and crew.

Medical advisers told organisers that it would take the IchorCoal a week to reach the closest landfall in Japan and there were no facilities on board for storing the body.

Miss Young’s crewmates committed her body to the sea at 1.02am British time yesterday. Three readings were delivered, including the ballad Sea Fever by English poet John Masefield.