A Bristol family have made a donation of £140,000 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in memory of well-known yachtsman, Simon Speirs who lost his life during a round-the-world-race in 2017. Mr Speirs, 60 was swept overboard in stormy seas in the Southern Ocean about 1,500 miles off the Australian coast on Day 18 of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race.
A father of four and retired solicitor, Mr Speirs was known as a keen yachtsman and was fulfilling his dream of competing in the tough ocean race as part of Team Great Britain on yacht CV30. According to reports, he was on the foredeck assisting with a headsail change when he was swept overboard by a large wave, although tethered.
The crew immediately launched a recovery operation in the high seas and managed to get him back on board within 36 minutes. Despite CPR, Mr Speirs did not regain consciousness and died.
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