Christoph von Reibnitz almost got caught out too. But the German professional skipper reached the harbour of Horta with his "Peter von Seestermühe" badly shaken - and so things turned out well. Other yachts were not so lucky. Four ships had to be abandoned and the Portuguese air force rescued the sailors. Only one yacht managed to escape the inferno under its own steam.
The incident ended horribly for a family of four from La Rochelle: the mother and son made it to the life raft, but the father and his six-year-old daughter floated in the sea for seven hours. Too long for the little girl, who died of hypothermia.
YACHT spoke to Guttorm Guttormsen, the Norwegian owner of one of the ships involved, who was also rescued by helicopter. He reviews the tragic events of that day in May in the current issue.
