Photos: L © Lucas Brun R © Oskar Kihlborg

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Thu, 18 May 2006 19:30:00 UTC

Way back in October Hans Horrevoets was standing beside a swimming pool in Sanxenxo beaming a huge smile. It wasn’t an uncommon sight to see a grin spread across the Dutchman’s face, in fact anyone who ever met the guy would be all too familiar with it.

He smiled about everything, even on that rainy day at a sea safety course in Sanxenxo. “You spend so much time preparing for the race, you just want the thing to start.” That was Hans Horrevoets in a nutshell; enthusiasm and happiness. Whether you knew him for a year or a day or a lifetime, his happiness was infectious.

His happiness at the race’s looming start was even more for his crewmates than himself. He was about to join a group of unknown sailors, selected by him, into the world’s most hostile conditions. “This is their dream, I’m excited for them,” he had said in October. That the ABN AMRO TWO project has gone on to be such a success and each of the talents he spotted have delivered on their potential made him, “So, so proud. They are all living a dream.”

But it was also his dream. He loved this race. It had been an ambition towards which he had strived since he was a boy. On his website he wrote, “As a child, I just had one goal in my life: sailing regattas! My biggest dream was sailing the Whitbread Round the World Race. Racing around the world on a W60 was my largest passion.

“Heavy crew selections, trainee ships at Quantum Sails and North Sails and many visits to a fitness center helped me make my dream come true in 1997/1998. As a trimmer and a sail maker on board Brunel Sunergy I sailed all legs. I was only 22 years old when the Race began. This was an experience no one can ever take away from me!”

To get that opportunity again this time round was, as he said, “Just magic.”

Such passion didn’t dwindle during 32 years of a life that ended so abruptly this morning. He was never anything less than enthusiastic and happy. Even when performances were bad he could be found laughing in the bar or with his family, friends and crew mates, for sailing to Hans was so much more than a job. It was, like it is for so many who make a living from this sport, far more enriching than that. Sailing, for Hans, satisfied a need for adventure, a desire to be tested, and above all it allowed him to be close to the ocean.

That the sport and ocean he loved so much led to his death was a possibility he always knew existed. He spelled out the risks himself immediately ahead of the fleet’s first leg departure to Cape Town.

“It can be scary, yes. But it is why we race. The families get more worried than we do, this is just what we do. The guys are all excellent sailors and this for them is a big chance to make a name for themselves. Yes, it can be dangerous, of course it can, but what if we didn’t sail? Life would be boring, and you could just die in a car crash,” he said.

His other passion was his family. Partner Petra was always on the dock at arrivals cheering with Bobbi, their infant daughter. His big smile from the boat was always aimed at them. Their hug would always come before the journalists’ interview. Even when the team finished last into Baltimore he refuted a reporter’s suggestion that he must be devastated. “Why devastated? We are very competitive and love to do well, but I have been away and now I’m going to see my beautiful family. In a few days I’ll go sailing again. Nice life!”

But beyond the loss, people are already beginning to realise the huge gain they made in their lives having met Hans. He will be missed, but also fondly remembered with a smile.

Follow this link to express your thoughts in the Team ABN AMRO guest book.

Related stories: Tributes to Hans
ABN AMRO TWO: Latest statement

Listen to tributes from the skippers:

Bouwe Bekking - movistar

Mike Sanderson - ABN AMRO ONE

Matt Humphries - Brunel

Torben Grael - Brasil 1

Neal McDonald - Ericsson

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