After examining various options, it was decided that the 10 crew members would be transferred onto ABN Amro Two. The priority was ultimately the safety of the crew as they faced a forecast of 50 knot winds coupled with 11 metre waves moving in from the West of the English coast.

It must be noted that the Spanish boat suffered keel damage yesterday afternoon after the aft end of their keel pivot bearing broke away from the hull. Initially efforts were made to perform an emergency repair by securing the canting with ropes, but this morning the crew realised that this wouldn’t be enough to see them through the storm approaching.

Onboard ABN Amro Two Bouwe Bekking described the situation that led to the decision to abandon Movistar.

“The decision to abandon Movistar was one of the toughest I have made in my life. This morning we confirmed that double the amount of water was entering the vessel, which meant we had to get the second pump going. I soon realised that our problems were much bigger than we had previously thought. We had survived for nearly 24 hours, but in light winds and the seas had calmed down, but with a forecast of 35 to 40 knots and peaking up to 50, I just wasn’t sure the boat would hold out. The breeze died to around six knots and now the boat was rocking hard as the seas became more confused. The keel pin started moving more as well, so in the end I took the tough decision. Ten lives at stake, with a similar number of families, the right call.”

Contact between the vessel and land was constant throughout the night, as the team looked at all of the available options with the crew’s safety at the forefront of their minds. The magnificent performance of the ABN Amro Two is a real credit to themselves as they reacted swiftly and calmly in intensely dramatic circumstances. They stuck with Movistar for most of the night, and made no hesitation in carrying out the rescue operation.

“Seb and his crew have been fantastic over the last 24 hours. We all realised that turning around had been a very hard call for them, and hopefully they can find a little comfort that they have saved ten lives. A boat is just a boat, you can replace it, but lives you cannot. Saying thank you is not big enough right now, it is more than that. I am sure we get even a better friendship with them all.

All of the Movistar crew were transferred onto ABN AMRO Two in a matter of minutes.

 “Once the call was made, I spoke with Seb on the VHF and went through procedures. We decided to use one life raft, and move over safety gear/food/media equipment etc, etc. We slid the raft off the transom, and one person jumped in and collected all the gear. Then four persons followed and we slipped them off. The transfer went perfectly and was done in a couple of minutes. The four went aboard ABN AMRO TWO and the raft was pushed off again with Mikey still in it. This was planned, so we could motor over, and throw him a line, which went OK at the first attempt. I checked once more downstairs, had a final look and stepped on deck. In the mean time the four others had slipped the second life raft in the water, but didn’t inflate it, as we wanted to keep it in one piece, so we had a third life raft on ABN AMRO TWO, as Seb had requested.

“That was it, boat abandoned, and our way across. Had a short chat with Nitro, and he was happy we got off, he could remember clearly Cape Horn in 50 knots, he couldn’t imagine doing a transfer in those conditions. Seb drove his boat precisely beside our raft, and we could throw the line and make the transfer in a whisker. I thanked him and his crew, and said how tough this must have been for them as well, especially after what they have been through. So now here we are on board, on our way to England. Spoke with Seb, what he wanted us to do, feel like home. He would like to remain to race in the spirit of the rule, sailing with his own boys. Fair enough. There is no mirror onboard here, but I could face myself, we have done everything possible.”

The Inmarsat Sacom C positioning system has remained switched on so that it can be located at all times and to enable the boat to be salvaged at a later point.

Pedro Campos, the Spanish Team Manager commented on the situation this morning. “This is possibly the most difficult day in my career since we lost Martin Wizner in 1999 whilst we were training for the America’s Cup in Valencia. During this almost neverending night my thoughts have been with the crew and their families, whom I have been in contact with throughout the night. Whilst the decision to abandon ship is a tough one for any sportsman, it was the only call to make, because the crew and their families come first. I would like to thank the crew for their exceptional performance under these circumstances, and our sponsors for all of their support and advice that they have given us whilst taking this tough call.”