These conditions are almost the "norm" for these racers. It is a real tragedy, and I agree amazing that they found him as soon as they did. These boats have all of the latest high tech gear--and I would not be surprised if each crew member may not have had a personal locator beacon. However I suspect that he sucumbed to hypothermia/drowning. I have worked racing boat decks under these conditions and it is very difficult. It is quite possiable that he did not even have an inflatable life jacket on. He may not have had a safety harness--although we always wore them. The conditions in the Southern Ocean were like this for weeks at a time. It is difficult to compare this with what we may meet in recreational cruising power boats. It has to be tough on the rest of his crew, the other boat's crew and his family! But when you sign up for this type of race, you know the dangers. Loss of life is not unusual. I don't know how many a year, but more than a hand full. If you remember one of the racing boats was found floating upside down near Africa a few months ago-- the entire crew was lost. The lesson here is that we need to have personal gear which allows us to be found--and maybe some personal floatation/hypothermia protection in case we go overboard. I have taken to carrying a PLB and submersiable VHF radio on my person when on the boat. Bob Austin