Ocean Breeze, the yacht which tragically lost a crewmember during the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, has arrived in St Lucia.

Swedish sailor Dag Eresund (33) went overboard in the Atlantic at 0227 UTC on 02 December. The search, co-ordinated by MRCC Norfolk (USA), was suspended 18 hours later. ARC yachts Leaps & Bounds 2 and motor vessel Project X joined in the search, but due to the distance of the casualty from land, air cover was not possible. 

MRCC Norfolk requested that boats in the area divert to pass through the search zone with co-ordinates updated to take into account drift and weather.

The search was sadly ended on Sunday 08 December.

Deeply affected

Paul Tetlow, director of World Cruising Club (WCC), which runs the event, confirmed the Austrian-flagged Volvo 70 arrived in St Lucia on Monday, and was the third of 140 boats to cross the finish line. 

Speaking to PBO, Paul said: “The ARC fleet has been deeply affected by what happened. It’s a huge shock. Crossing the Atlantic is an adventurous activity and with adventure comes risk. Everyone appreciates those risks, and we research these risks and do everything we can to reduce them.” 

MOB Safety gear 

In 39 years of the ARC rally there have been seven deaths: three heart attacks, two from injuries, one drowning whilst tethered to the boat and now the loss of Dag Eresund.

When asked if Mr Eresund’s Personal AIS beacon activated Paul said that he couldn’t speculate. 

“Our requirement is that every crew has an inflatable lifejacket and AIS and it was reported to MRCC Norfolk that when he went overboard he was wearing a lifejacket and personal AIS beacon.” 

Paul explained the investigation will most likely be undertaken by the Austrian and/or Swedish authorities and that World Cruising Club will make itself available, as well as continuing to support the family at this very difficult time. 

Fleet alerted

Yachts participating in the ARC and sister event ARC+ (which was sailing to Grenada from Cape Verde) were immediately notified of the MOB. 

“WCC has an inshore and at-sea WhatsApp structure, which is for routine comms,” explained Paul. “The net is readily available if an incident occurs and people know in the event of an incident to switch to radio silence and wait to be tasked with instructions. Communication stops unless people believe they can assist… Ocean Breeze was one of the boats ahead of the fleet; those that were nearby were tasked to go and assist and did so.”

Worst nightmare

The tragedy has not just affected sailors on the ARC, but those taking part in the ARC+, which departed from Gran Canaria a fortnight earlier. 

Sasha Spiegel-Wallace was double-handing with husband Blair on Silver Moon when she heard news of the MOB. The couple had already suffered a broken boom, which had to be replaced, and Sasha said the idea of falling overboard ‘freaked her out’. 

Sasha Spiegel-Wallace and Blair Wallace arrive in Grenada after crossing the Atlantic double-handed. Credit: Ali Wood

“I was already scared about that – I don’t have the skills to get Blair back onboard, and then that happened and it just broke my heart. It’s your worst nightmare. Everybody’s worst nightmare,” she told PBO. “We have the AIS and I don’t know if [with Mr Eresund] it wasn’t connected or if it didn’t work. We have had professionals check our AIS and so we felt confident with the setup but who knows? We just sailed super-conservative after that. It was just too stressful for the next 24 hours.” 

Always a risk

Vanessa Lowe, sailing with her family onboard Onyva Mondiale, recalled: “We were halfway and, quite correctly and professionally, ARC notified us that this had happened. By that stage I’d got more comfortable with night shifts. We’d relaxed into it in a nice way, ever mindful of what we were doing. I think we all swallowed a bit of fear and said we really need to clip on whenever we’re going forward of the cockpit. It just drives home what you’re doing.

Vanessa and Nick Lowe speaking at an ARC+ press conference in Grenada. Credit: Ali Wood

“It’s quite extreme. If you’re out there and if you do make a mistake it could be life-threatening. It just made us sit up and pay attention to what we knew we had to do. Not that we didn’t wear lifejackets; we always did, but it’s just making sure to clip on. You think, ‘I can easily just reach that’. 

“At the back of your mind you always know there’s a risk of someone falling overboard and we did train for this. We did a sea survival course in the UK and had our MOB crib card. We practised with a fender but it’s never the same as in a real situation. It was really sad and hung over us for a while.”

Still at sea

Many of the ARC fleet, which left Gran Canaria on 21 November, are still at sea, with the last yacht expected to arrive in Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia around 21 December. The last ARC+ yacht will arrive in Grenada tomorrow.

Over the 2024 ARC season, the 234 boats have experienced everything from classic tradewind sailing to strong squalls. Those still at sea are now looking at a period of lighter winds.

Follow the fleet on the YB Races app and on the fleet viewer on worldcruising.com