A fatal accident occurred during the Aegean 600 international sailing race. The 40-year-old French athlete Anna Konontchouk was killed after falling off her boat.
The French athlete fell into the sea while trying to release her sail, tragically losing her life off Karpathos in the process. According to reports, Konontchouk fell into a turbulent and stormy sea where she was dragged under the boat and struck by a “leg,” a protrusion with which sailboats are fitted underneath.
Aegean 600 has expressed its condolences for the tragic death of the 40-year-old, who was later found in the sea having suffered a severe blow to the head.
The statement from Aegean 600
The full statement from Aegean 600 reads:
“The extremely strong tensions of the Meltemi that prevailed in the Carpathian Sea made it difficult for the Aegean 600 fleet, which is making a 600 nautical mile circumnavigation of the Aegean Sea without stopping, resulting in 14 boats abandoning the race. Unfortunately, the adverse weather conditions resulted in the death of a 40-year-old French national from the HEAVEN vessel, northwest of Kasos.
The 40 year old was found at sea with a severe blow to the head and resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
The entire sailing family and the organizers in private express their deep regret for the incident. Meanwhile, at 03.18.52 on Tuesday morning, Eric Maris’ trimaran ZOULOU flying the French flag crossed the finish line at Sounion setting a new race speed record with a time of 1 day 13 hours 18 minutes and 52 seconds. For the 605 nautical mile distance of the race course, this means an average hourly speed of 16.2 knots.”
The statement concludes:
“Just 1 minute and 21 seconds behind ZOULOU was Jason Carroll’s American-flagged trimaran ARGO. The two boats were in the lead alternately throughout the race.”
Georgios Vallis, of the Panhellenic Union of Yacht Crews, told newsit.gr that “the accident was logically due to insufficient safety measures and also due to the weather. In theory it should be tied to the boat, it can’t be thrown. Meltemias of 7-8 Beaufort are tragic risk conditions and safety measures. We urge all crews and owners not to take risks in such adverse weather conditions, to take all safety measures.”
“They must respect the sea and the weather conditions,” Vallis concluded, “because this year we see many accidents and mishaps at sea and we are only in the middle of the summer season.”
On its website, Aegean 600 writes:
“The sea of myths and legends. The sea of Homer, Seferis and Elytis. The sea of painters and philosophers. The sea of sailors. 600 miles of sailing in this sea. An offshore race designed by sailors for sailors. A race where the wind god, Aeolus, will make his own game to control sailors’ seamanship.”
