The 2024 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers had a drama-filled second week that involved the sinking of the catamaran Karolina Viking, with all crew rescued, and the loss overboard of 33-year-old Swedish sailor Dag Eresund from the 70-foot sloop Ocean Breeze.
The fleet of 140 boats left Las Palmas in the Canary Islands on November 24 bound for the Caribbean. At 0200 on December 2, the skipper of Ocean Breeze, a Volvo 70 with paying crew aboard, reported to race headquarters that Eresund had gone overboard and that the boat had begun a search.
The US Marine Rescue Coordination Center took over management of the search that soon included fellow rally entrant Leaps and Bounds II and the 88-meter motoryacht Project X. The incident occurred 1,300 miles southeast of Bermuda, a distance that precluded air support for the search.
After 19 hours of searching, in 25-to-30 knots of wind and large seas, the MRCC abandoned the official search and declared Eresund lost.
The rally’s organizer the World Cruising Club issued the following statement:
“It is with great sadness that World Cruising Club confirms that 33-year-old Swedish sailor Dag Eresund was lost overboard from yacht Ocean Breeze on Monday 2 December at 02:27 UTC.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Dag Eresund’s family and friends and with all the crew members on Ocean Breeze at this unbelievably difficult time.
“We thank the skippers and crew of Leaps & Bounds 2 and Project X for diverting to assist in the search.”
After the MRCC abandoned the official search, Ocean Breeze continued its passage west to the Caribbean.
Cinderella di Sanremo
In the other incident this week, during the ARC+ that adds a leg to the Cape Verde Island from Las Palmas, the Leopard 45 Karolina Viking issued an SOS due to a rapid ingress of water into the starboard engine compartment.
The skipper, in coordination with the Cape Verdian MRCC, decided to attempt motoring 300 miles upwind to the Island group using his port engine. But, the water flooding the boat was beginning to effect the electrical systems.
Nine hours after the SOS call, another ARC entrant, the 22 meter Jongert Cinderella di Sanremo, rendezvoused with sinking cat and the decision was taken for the crew of Karolina Viking to abandon ship.
All crew were transferred to the Cinderella safely and the cat was left partially submerged and tethered to a drogue.
