On the night of June 12 to 13, 1998, more than 20 years ago, Eric Tabarly disappeared at sea. Sailing on board his Pen Duick, which he sailed with a crew to Scotland to participate in a meeting of sailing boats designed by the naval architect William Fife, the father of the Pen Duick.
On board the boat is the sea photographer Erwan Quéméré, a couple friend, Antoine and Candida Costa, and another friend, Jacques-André Rebec. Besides Eric Tabarly, only Erwan Quéméré has a good knowledge of the boat. He was at the helm during the fatal maneuver.
During a manoeuvre to reduce the sail area as night approached, the horn that was beating in the wind hit Eric Tabarly against the chest and threw him into the sea. To avoid any controversy and false information, the crew in agreement with Jacqueline Tabarly, the sailor's wife, published a few days later a detailed statement of the facts that we reproduce here:
" It is Mrs. Tabarly's will not to give any interview, but to make a paper to reveal the truth.
Pen Duick was heading to Fairlie, Scotland, to participate in a Fife plans meeting. Leaving Newlyn (near Penzance) late Friday morning, Pen Duick is heading north after passing Land's End.
As the wind gradually increased, the jib and flying jib were brought in, and two reefs were taken in the mainsail.
At 10:30 p.m., Eric Tabarly decided to bring in the mainsail and rig the heavy weather sail. He asked the whole crew to be at the manoeuvre. At the end of the lowering of the horn, a roll as it was about to be grabbed caused a swing from starboard to port. Eric, who was grabbing the sail at the time, standing on the companionway, was hit under the horn at chest height and thrown overboard to port.
We throw a horseshoe buoy. It is 12:15 am, Saturday June 13. It is very dark, overcast, with a short and heavy sea. The boat is missing downwind with its headsails (jib and staysail). We decide to lower the headsails and to go back on our course, under engine, heading south. We launch two distress rockets and, on portable VHF, we transmit on channel 16, without getting any contact. The battery of the VHF, weakening, becomes inoperative.
Until 4 am, we were heading south. From 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., we drifted north to scan the area again, then we went east under staysail in the hope of meeting a ship. At 7 a.m., we saw a sailboat and a merchant ship. We set off a distress flare. The two boats diverted towards us.
Through the sailboat, we ask, by voice, for assistance for man overboard (helicopter and rescuers). While waiting for the implementation of the device, we continue the research with the other sailboat (Longorbarda).
We thank the rescuers for their efficiency and professionalism".
The crew of "Pen Duick
The body of the sailor was recovered one month later (July 1998) by a Breton trawler. He was then formally identified. After an autopsy, the cause of death was indeed drowning..
