Teen recalls freak yacht death

A KZN teen has told of how she overcame heartache when a fellow crew member died on an international yacht race.

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Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal teenager has told of how she overcame heartache when a fellow crew member died on an international yacht race, and how she stayed the distance to complete her leg.

Mtubatuba resident, Zanele Mweni, was aboard the IchorCoal during the Clipper Round the World Race when Briton Andrew (Andy) Ashman was killed.

Mweni, 19, who is back home after completing her leg of the race, recalled the events of September 5.

They were about 160km off Portugal when tragedy struck, she said. Ashman was hit by the mainsheet, the rope connected to the boom, on the South African-sponsored IchorCoal.

“It was about 1.30am and I was off watch when the accident happened,” she said.

One of the crew, Sophie Crocker, woke her up and told her to put on her life jacket, Crocker did not tell her that Ashman was injured.

“I was shocked, I thought it was a man overboard,” she said. “I asked Sophie what happened and she told me that Andy was hit by a rope and was unconscious.”

“Crew members took out the first-aid kit, checked his pulse and were performing CPR on him.”

A worried Mweni left the deck while the crew were trying to resuscitate Ashman. Mweni then went back to bed.

“I had nightmares and dreamt that he was trying to wake up,” she said.

After a brief and restless sleep, she woke up at 5am and noticed “the crew members were avoiding eye contact with me and not telling me what had happened. I knew something was wrong”.

It was a fellow South African crew member, Bruce Rogerson, who broke the news to her.

“Andy was a very nice guy. He was a paramedic. Earlier in the day I had a headache and he had helped me with some painkillers. He helped everybody,” Mweni said.

“They tried to help me emotionally, but I could see that they themselves were also struggling,” Mweni said.

“They asked me if I wanted to carry on with the race and I said yes. I did not want to give up,” she said.

Mweni called her family and told them what had happened.

She joked: “My sister said I should not come back as they would only prepare a plate of food for me once I had finished my leg of the race.”

As this was happening, some of crew mates also had doubts on whether they should continue the race, she said.

“But they did not give up,” Mweni said, as the crew forged on, determined to honour Ashman’s memory.

The IchorCoal arrived in Brazil earlier this month.

“We were very happy to have reached Brazil,” Mweni said.

In Brazil, she had to reassure Rveida Mthethwa who was going on to the second leg, from Brazil to South Africa, because she was scared after hearing what had happened.

She said the crew explained to Mthethwa that it was a freak accident and there was no need to worry.

For Mweni, the journey has been much more than sailing from Southend, in the UK, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has been a voyage of self-discovery.

“I learnt that I could deal with these situations… I can do anything I put my mind to.”

Her family encouraged her not to give up, and despite the tragedy, she still has a love for sailing and shares her experiences with friends.

“My friends and community are in disbelief that I was part of the race. I showed them the Clipper book with the pictures.”

Mweni said she planned to study nursing next year.

Daily News

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