Second vessel abandoned after taking on water.
The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers community, along with the extended sailing community, is mourning the loss of Swedish sailor Dag Eresund, who was lost overboard from Volvo 70 racing yacht Ocean Breeze on Monday. A mayday call went out at 2:30 UTC on December 2 from Ocean Breeze, sailing approximately 1,300 nautical miles east of Bermuda in challenging conditions with winds gusting more than 30 knots. A search was initiated by the vessel.
The U.S. Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Norfolk, Va., (MRCC) put out an emergency alert to all shipping for assistance, and ARC yacht Leaps & Bounds 2 along with motor vessel Project X, who were in the vicinity, immediately joined the search. Air cover was not possible due to the distance of the incident from land.
With loss of daylight and in worsening seas, MRCC Norfolk ended the active search after nearly 19 hours, at 20:45 UTC on Monday. MRCC requested that all capable vessels should amend course to pass through the search area of 20o24.838N 043o11.623W and to keep a sharp lookout for any signs of a person in the water. The search area will be amended over time to take account of drift rates and weather conditions and MRCC Norfolk will continue to provide updated coordinates. Updates can be found on the WCC web site https://www.worldcruising.com/index.aspx.
“World Cruising Club understands that Eresund was wearing an automatically inflatable lifejacket with a personal AIS beacon attached. We do not know the circumstances of the incident and we will not speculate,” WCC said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Dag Eresund’s family and friends and with all the crew members on Ocean Breeze at this unbelievably difficult time.”
Ocean Breeze is one of 11 yachts sailing in the IRC racing division of the ARC, the annual rally from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia. Yachts in this division must comply with the World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations for Category 1 and the World Cruising Club safety equipment requirements.
In total, 820 people from 42 nations onboard 140 yachts are sailing in ARC 2024. The event departed from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Sunday, November 24, heading 2,700nm across the Atlantic. 2024 is the 39th edition of this sailing event.
Ocean Breeze was a week into its passage and sailing in the mid-Atlantic when Eresund was lost overboard.
In a separate incident, crew abandoned the ARC yacht Karolina Viking, which was taking on water. The Swedish-flagged Leopard 45 issued a mayday at 0300 UTC on Monday, reporting a leak in the starboard engine with water coming from the base of the rudder and seeping into other areas of the starboard hull. In coordination with MRCC Cape Verde, the skipper decided to head to the Cape Verde islands under the port motor, approximately 300 miles upwind. Around midday UTC Monday, ARC yacht Cinderella di Ranremo was able to rendezvous with Karolina Viking and offer support.
The electrical system was damaged by the water ingress and the skipper and crew made the decision to abandon ship. The five crew of Karolina Viking joined the five crew aboard Cinderella di Sanremo and are headed to St. Lucia.
‘We thank Gerald Smith and his Cinderella di Sanremo crew for their actions,’ the WCC said.
The ARC yachts are expected to arrive in St. Lucia mid-December, 18 to 20 days after departure.
