Watch: Man in shock in wake of overboard incident

A member of the Londonderry crew suffered shock and suspected hypothermia after being swept overboard for an hour-and-a-half in the Pacific on Monday (March 31).
By The Newsroom
Published 31st Mar 2014, 17:10 BST
Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.
Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.

Andrew Taylor (46) from London went over the side at 00.43 BST on Monday (March 31) in rough weather and was sighted again at 01.55 BST before being recovered at approximately 02.13 BST this morning (13.13 local time).

Following the incident he said: “I ache all over. Everything f*****g hurts. I’ve a stonking head ache. It all happened so quickly. So quickly.

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“I was literally like just gone. That was it. Nothing. Nothing at all. I came up. I braced myself waiting for the safety line. The next thing I knew I hit the rudder.

Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.
Londonderry crew member Andrew Taylor is recovered from the Pacific.

“A big flash of purple. Smack on the rudder. F**k it hurt.”

He said he wasn’t sure if the rest of the crew had seen him go in.

“And then I saw somebody at the mast and initially I thought that was a good thing because I knew you were looking for me and then I realised it might be a bad thing because you didn’t know where I was.”

The incident happened in rough weather with 35 knots of wind and clear visibility, during a sail change in daylight on day 14 of Race 10 in the Clipper Race which is currently heading for San Francisco, USA from Qingdao, China.

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Skipper Sean McCarter (32) reported that he was working with Andrew on a sail change near the bow when he went over the side. Sean immediately went back to the helm, stopped the yacht and initiated the MOB (man overboard) procedure.

Following his recovery, Andrew was taken below decks for treatment by the on board medic, crew member Susie Redhouse (42) also from London, who is a paramedic clinical tutor. She reported he was suffering from shock and may have hypothermia. A competing team, OneDLL, responded to the mayday call and diverted course to render assistance as the closest yacht to the Londonderry.

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