Who is John Fisher? Missing British yachtsman who fell overboard during Volvo Ocean round-the-world race
Veteran yachtsman is presumed dead after falling overboard 1,400 nautical miles west of Chile
BRITISH sailor John Fisher is presumed lost at sea after he fell overboard during a round-the-world race.
As rescuers say there is little chance he will be found, here's what we know.
Who is John Fisher?
John Fisher, 47, was born in Southampton in September 1970.
After growing up on the south coast of England he moved to Adelaide, Australia.
The sailing veteran is a long-term member of the Ragamuffin and Scallywag "super maxi" crews and has competed in the Sydney to Hobart race several times.
This year for the first time he took the step up to the Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as the Whitbread Round The World Race.
He joined the Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag team racing a 65ft yacht, starting from Alicante, Spain, in October.
The crew sailed 26,500 nautical miles from there to Lisbon, Cape Town, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Auckland.
Mr Fisher got into trouble during the testing 7,600-mile leg from Auckland to Itajai, Brazil, which involves rounding Cape Horn at the tip of South America.
He fell overboard on Monday, March 26, in the stormy Southern Ocean around 1,400 nautical miles west of the cape.
He was on watch and wearing appropriate survival gear when he fell into the water, the organisers said.
What happened to John Fisher?
His crewmates spent several hours scouring the ocean for the man overboard, despite the 35-knot gales, powerful waves and failing light.
Eventually they were forced to turn downwind and head for safety at the nearest coast in Chile.
Other yachts were already 200 miles downwind and it was not practical to turn them round to assist, organisers.
A ship was sent to the area, but as it was 400 miles away and would take a day to get there, the chances of finding him were said to be "diminishing".
On Tuesday, race president Richard Brisius said: "Given the cold water temperature and the extreme sea state, along with the time that has now passed since he went overboard, we must now presume that John has been lost at sea."
He added: "This is heart-breaking for all of us. As sailors and race organisers losing a crew member at sea is a tragedy we don't ever want to contemplate.
"We are devastated and our thoughts are with John’s family, friends and teammates."
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