Andrew Simpson (sailor)
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Andrew James Bart Simpson (17 December 1976 – 9 May 2013), was an English sailor who won a gold medal at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
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, as crew for skipper
Iain Percy Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English sailor and double Olympic champion for Great Britain. Olympics Percy competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.
in the Star class representing Great Britain. Simpson died in the capsize of the
catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
he was crewing on 9 May 2013, while training for the
America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
in San Francisco Bay.


Career

Simpson started his competitive sailing career in the Laser class, before switching to the heavier Finn class. He claimed the bronze medal at the 2003 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cadiz in the Finn class; his training partner
Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...
took the gold, with Great Britain topping the medal table. He sailed with
+39 Challenge +39 Challenge was a yacht racing team established in 2004 that competed for the Louis Vuitton Cup 2007, the challenger series held prior to the America's Cup. The teams was based at the Yacht club "Circolo Vela Gargnano" in Gargnano, Italy, and w ...
in the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. Simpson then moved to the two-man Star class, partnering lifelong friend Iain Percy; they won a bronze medal at the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships in
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to qualify for the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. The pair won the gold medal in Beijing in the Star class. After winning the Olympic gold, Percy and Simpson took a break from Star sailing and were in the TeamORIGIN afterguard for the 2010 America's Cup. In 2010, he and Percy won the Star World Championships in Rio de Janeiro. Simpson and Percy made the podium in every meeting of the ISAF Sailing World Cup in 2012, including gold at the Hyeres French World Cup regatta. They competed at the
2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, again in the Star class, failing to defend their title despite being in the lead throughout the competition, but winning the silver medal. After the Star class was removed from the Olympic sailing disciplines, Simpson turned his attention to the America's Cup, moving to San Francisco to train in March 2013. He was known for his athleticism, and for his attention to detail in preparing the boat to obtain the best possible performance.


Death

Simpson was killed on 9 May 2013, during training for the 34th America's Cup, when the
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Artemis Racing Artemis Racing is a professional sailing team founded in 2006 by businessman and sailor Torbjörn Törnqvist, named after Artemis, the ancient Greek goddess. Timeline * 2007: won the MedCup circuit, then called Breitling Medcup, and the TP52 Wo ...
team yacht he was aboard capsized near
Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
in San Francisco Bay. The yacht, a 72-foot catamaran with a rigid, wing-like sail, was turning downwind ( bearing away) when it flipped over and broke into pieces. Simpson was trapped underneath its hulls for approximately ten minutes, and attempts to revive him by doctors afloat and subsequently ashore were unsuccessful. The cause of the accident is unknown. An investigation was initiated by the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
which involved San Francisco police and the America's Cup management. John Derbyshire, performance director of the
Royal Yachting Association The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) is a United Kingdom national governing body for sailing, dinghy sailing, yacht and motor cruising, sail racing, RIBs and sportsboats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inl ...
, described Simpson as "a huge inspiration to others, both within the British Sailing Team and across the nation". Other tributes were paid by fellow sailors Ainslie and Percy, Olympian sport shooter, Peter Wilson,
British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...
's director of elite performance,
Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lion ...
, and British
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,
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, amongst others. His funeral was held at
Sherborne Abbey Sherborne Abbey, otherwise the Abbey Church of St. Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England church in Sherborne in the English county of Dorset. It has been a Saxon cathedral (705–1075), a Benedictine abbey church (998–1539), and since 1539, ...
in his home town of
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
.


Safety review

In the aftermath of the accident, safety concerns were raised over the new
AC72 The AC72 (America's Cup 72 class) is a class of wingsail catamarans built to a box rule, which governs the construction and operation of yachts competing in the 2013 Louis Vuitton and the America's Cup races. The class was subsequently replac ...
class of yachts which had been chosen to compete in the
2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand r ...
. This was the second accident involving the class; in October 2012 an
Oracle Team USA Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club ...
AC72 also capsized in San Francisco Bay during training, causing substantial damage but no serious injuries. Christopher Clarey, writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', described the class as "high-speed and high-risk." Stephen Park, who heads the British Olympic sailing team, commented: "they're very high powered and the loads on them are huge ... these boats are untrodden waters for sailing. A lot of the loads and a lot of the equipment is new and there are a lot of unknowns and things being tested." Sailing journalist Stuart Alexander, writing in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', stated that the AC72s are seen by some as "death traps." In early June 2013, it was announced that the programme of events for the 2013 America's Cup would be significantly reduced in response to Simpson's death. Later that month, a review committee presented 37 proposed modifications to the event to an international jury which the committee deemed necessary to be fulfilled in order for the event to go ahead altogether.


Honours

Simpson was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...
.


Personal life

Born in
Windlesham Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffix 'ham', the Old Engli ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in 1976, where he lived and moved to
Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...
. He first learned to sail aged four or five, while visiting his grandparents at
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, Dorset, and later sailed in a Seafly dinghy with his father, Keith. His talent brought him to the notice of Jim Saltonstall, who coached him in the Royal Yachting Association youth squad. Simpson attended
Pangbourne College Pangbourne College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school located in the civil parish of Pangbourne, in the English county of Berkshire. It is set in 230 acres, on a hill south-west of the village, in an Area of Outstanding Nat ...
, a mixed boarding school in Berkshire, which originated as a nautical college, coaching students in sailing, seamanship and navigation. He studied at
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
, gaining a degree in economics. In addition to sailing, he was a keen footballer. Affectionately known as "Bart", after the character
Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...
, from the American animated series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''. Simpson was described as having "steely determination and focus" but being "diplomatic, softly spoken". He is survived by his wife Leah and their two sons, Freddie and Hamish.


Andrew Simpson Foundation

The Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1153060) and was founded in memory of, and inspired by, Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson. The ASF was established in 2013 by Trustees Sir
Ben Ainslie Sir Charles Benedict Ainslie (born 5 February 1977) is a British competitive sailor. Ainslie is the most successful sailor in Olympic history. He won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four consecutiv ...
,
Iain Percy Iain Bryden Percy (born 21 March 1976) is an English sailor and double Olympic champion for Great Britain. Olympics Percy competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he won a gold medal in the Finn class.
OBE and Andrew’s wife, Leah. The ASF’s mission is to transform lives through sailing. Each year it gives thousands of young people the opportunity to get out on the water and experience the joys and challenges of sailing and watersports. The ASF operates four not-for-profit centres in the UK - Portland, Portsmouth, Reading and Birmingham. The charity also runs a Centre in Lake Garda and supports sailing initiatives in South Africa and Turks and Caicos.


Bart's Bash

Bart's Bash is a fund-raising event organised by the Andrew Simpson Foundation in memory of Andrew (Bart). Launched in 2014, it is the world's largest sailing event. Its main aims are to increase international awareness of sailing, and to raise funds for supporting sustainable projects and improving the lives of children. The first Bart's Bash inspired over 700 sailing clubs from more than 60 countries to organise individual Bart's Bash races at their locations. In January 2015, Bart's Bash was awarded a Guinness World Record for staging the largest sailing race in 24 hours.


References


External links

* * * * *
Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Andrew 1976 births 2013 deaths People educated at Pangbourne College Alumni of University College London Olympic sailors of Great Britain British male sailors (sport) Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Star Sailors at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Star Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Chertsey People from Sherborne English Olympic medallists Olympic medalists in sailing Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Star class world champions Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Boating accident deaths Artemis Racing sailors Sports deaths in California 2007 America's Cup sailors 2013 America's Cup sailors World champions in sailing for Great Britain Maritime incidents in the United States Maritime incidents in 2013 2013 in sailing