10 May 2013

In Memoriam: Andrew Simpson, two-time Olympic gold medalist


RYA pays tribute to Olympic Sailor Andrew Simpson MBE (video)
"You were always there when we needed advice or had a bad day. You and your wise words will not be forgotten." British Sailing's Kate Macgregor sums up in one sentence the respect, admiration and love that the whole international sailing and sporting community had for Andrew Simpson.


Andrew Simpson, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Britain, died Thursday in an America's Cup training accident while sailing on San Francisco Bay. The Artemis racing team of Sweden said on its website that Simpson was trapped under the boat after it capsized. All other crew members were rescued. The Coast Guard said there were 11 other crew members, while the Artemis release said Simpson was part of an 11-man crew aboard the catamaran. (Source: Bloomberg)

Condolences pour in to America's Cup team after sailor dies - latimes.com: "Condolences from around the world poured in to the Swedish racing team Thursday after its 72-foot catamaran capsized in the San Francisco Bay, killing one sailor during a training run for the America’s Cup. On the Artemis Racing Twitter site, the U.S. Sailing Team tweeted: “A tremendously sad day for the sport of sailing. Our thoughts are with the family of Olympic Champion Andrew Simpson, and Artemis Racing.” Sail Canada, formerly known as the Canadian Yachting Assn., tweeted: “Tragic news. Our condolences to the Simpson family and Artemis team.”. . . ."

Sailor Dies in America’s Cup Training as Yacht Capsizes - NYTimes.com: " . . . In recent interviews, several crew members and Cup officials have expressed concerns that the yachts are now “overpowered.” “When Oracle crashed, I said, ‘That will not be the only one; this will happen again,’ “ Max Sirena, skipper of America’s Cup challenger Luna Rossa, said in an interview Thursday. “And now it’s happened again. These are dangerous boats.” Sirena added: “The boat is basically too powerful. At the same time, this is our sport. This is a risk we take.” . . ."

Sailing mourns death of Olympic gold medallist Andrew Simpson
Irish Independent
Royal Yachting Association Olympic manager Stephen Park says the death of Andrew Simpson has been like losing a family member, with the news leaving the British sailing team feeling "broken".

Irish Independent

British sailing champ dies in America's Cup training off San Francisco
Chicago Tribune
 . . . silver medallist Britain's Andrew Simpson during his men's star class keelboat sailing medal race victory ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Weymouth and Portland ...

British sailing mourns death of Simpson
Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - The British sailing community was mourning the death of Olympic champion Andrew Simpson after the 36-year-old drowned when his vessel capsized in San Francisco Bay during training for the America's Cup on Thursday. Simpson ...

Sailing Olympian dies in US capsize
Irish Independent
Simpson was part of the Artemis Racing team that planned to challenge for the 34th America's Cup, and was the team's strategist. He was sailing alongside his childhood friend and Olympic partner Iain Percy, who is Artemis' sailing team director and ...

Irish Independent

Sailing - Olympic hero Simpson dies in yacht accident
Yahoo! Eurosport UK
British Olympic sailing champion Andrew Simpson, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, died on Thursday when his yacht capsized off the California coast during training for the America's Cup....

Yahoo! Eurosport UK

Sailing - Tributes to Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson
Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Sir Ben Ainslie's Oracle Team: "Today is a sad day for all of us in the sailing community. Andrew Simpson was a great person, a terrific sailor, and a good friend to all of our team. Our thoughts are with his family and the entire Artemis team. He will ...

Yahoo! Eurosport UK

Olympic sailing champion Andrew 'Bart' Simpson killed in sailing accident aged 36
Telegraph.co.uk
Percy and Simpson were not just sailing partners but for many years, close friends along with Sir Ben Ainslie who was in San Francisco at the same time with the American Oracle team. The British contingent involved in the America's Cup which includes ...

Telegraph.co.uk

Andrew Simpson: talented team player from British sailing's golden ...
Self-deprecating Olympic gold medallist, known as Bart, died after catamaran capsized during training for America's Cup.
www.guardian.co.uk/.../andrew-simpson-british-sailing-golden...

The Boat That Could Sink the America's Cup | Autopia | Wired.com: "How this will affect the team and the overall America’s Cup competition remains to be seen. . . . If there are a couple of Oracle-size crashes between now and when racing starts this summer, it won’t be much of a playoff series. If two teams manage to pull an Oracle during the races in, say, a messy collision, then there’s a very real chance the series will simply be canceled. On the other hand, now that the AC72′s fatal flaw is obvious to everyone, the possibility of another of these boats turning a somersault raises the stakes to astounding and unprecedented levels. . . ."

Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup - Successful day 2 for Australians
Sail World
During the second day of the 2013 Eurosaf Champions Sailing Cup on Lake Garda, in Italy, Australian sailors have had a successful day, with a number of crews working their way up the leaderboard. Tom Burton has extended his lead in the Laser class and ...

Sail World

New Breed of Classic Sailing Yachts Automate the Crew | Autopia ...
The latest pleasure boats allow sailors to take to the water with a crew of just one, withsails that can move at the touch of a button.
www.wired.com/autopia/2013/05/automated-morris-m-series/

US Sailing and America's Cup Launch New 'Start ... - San Francisco
US Sailing, the national governing body of the sport, has joined forces with the pinnacle event in sailing – the iconic America's Cup – to introduce, inform and ...
www.americascup.com/.../us-sailing-and-americas-cup-launch-...

Sailing in Greece: Dodecanese islands
Telegraph.co.uk
This was to be our ninth family annual sailing holiday and we decided on the Dodecanese islands in Greece. New waters and a new skipper, my 22-year-old son, Francis. He had taken his day skipper course the year before and had recently returned from ...

Telegraph.co.uk

The finest European sailing holidays
The Independent
And as the warmest season hoves into view, the idea of a sailing holiday becomes ever more appealing – not least because Europe is arguably the finest corner of the planet for a week on a yacht, sloop or schooner. From the silvery Mediterranean, where ...

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