ONE OF the 21 survivors of a yacht that capsized off the southwest coast in last summer’s Fastnet race said a repaired fracture in the keel caused the boat to capsize suddenly.
US sailor Jerry Kirby (55), in Galway at the weekend for a Volvo Ocean race Galway sponsorship event, said no one on board would have “had a chance” if the incident had occurred two hours later than it did, further out to sea.
The 100ft maxi-yacht Rambler 100– owned by US multi-millionaire David George and valued at $10-$14 million before the incident – is in England and may be repaired if insurers sanction it.
Mr Kirby said a “minor crack” had occurred during the vessel’s “early phase” of competition and had been repaired. “It looks almost 100 per cent as if it was the cause,” he said.
When the canting keel snapped just after rounding the Fastnet rock, it resulted in a sudden loss of stability. The 21 crew, five of whom were below in bunks, had “seconds” to grab safety gear, and no time to issue a Mayday.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board is investigating.
Kirby was among 16 of the crew rescued by the RNLI Baltimore lifeboat from the upturned hull, while a local dive company boat guided by Valentia Coast Guard rescued the five down below who had escaped but had been carried away by currents and spent almost three hours in the water.
Kirby, who has been involved in three Volvo ocean race campaigns and is regarded as the fittest bowman in competitive offshore racing, told The Irish Timeshe initially went back below to free those in bunks to discover they had got out through a stern hatch.
He and a colleague saved the life of the only crewman carrying the only personal emergency position indicating radio beacon on the vessel. It was this beacon’s transmission that led the rescue agencies to the hull in a 4.5m swell.
“I’ve never been hugged so many times by a man in my life,” Kirby said of his colleague’s relief.
