San Francisco, May 10: Andrew “Bart” Simpson had already garnered an Olympic gold medal in sailing in 2008 and a silver at last year’s Games when Artemis Racing came calling with a chance to win yachting’s top prize — the America’s Cup.
“Moving the family to San Fran for 6 months is pretty hectic!!!,” Simpson tweeted in March. “The cup should be fun though!!”
On Thursday, the British sailor drowned when Artemis’ catamaran capsized and trapped him underwater for more than 10 minutes while training in San Francisco Bay.
Simpson, 36, served as the Swedish team’s strategist.
“The entire Artemis team is devastated by what happened,” CEO Paul Cayard said in a statement on the team’s website. “Our heartfelt condolences are with Andrew’s wife and family.”
Cayard didn’t take questions during a brief news conference and didn’t return telephone calls.
Simpson is survived by a wife and an infant child.
Simpson and his partner Iain Percy won an Olympic gold medal for Britain in 2008 in the Star class. The duo, world champions in 2010, were expected to repeat in London but were upset by a Swedish team and settled for silver.
Percy is Artemis’ director and the boat’s tactician.
Artemis Racing said doctors “afloat” with the team and on shore were unable to revive Simpson after he was freed from the wreckage.
Another sailor, Olympic bronze medallist Craig Monk of New Zealand, injured his neck but his injury was not life-threatening. The rest of the 11-man crew were accounted for and taken back to their dock in Alameda.
Officials said winds were blowing between 15 and 20 knots (17 to 23 mph) when the boat capsized. The National Weather Service later issued a small-craft advisory, warning inexperienced mariners to stay off the bay and indicating winds of between 21 knots and 33 knots.
The 72-foot (22-meter) Artemis boat flipped near Treasure Island, which is bisected by the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge. The armada of rescue boats and helicopters were visible from the roadway.
Simpson and Monk, a grinder, were brought to shore at the St Francis Yacht Club, where paramedics performed CPR on Simpson. He was pronounced dead a short time later.