Duran Duran rock superstar Simon Le Bon sailed with Magnus Olsson on board Drum in the 1985-86 edition of the race. Le Bon has sent us this personal tribute to his smiling Swedish friend, who died on April 20 at the age of 64.
Barry Pickthall /PPL
A musician and the owner of the maxi yacht Drum, Le Bon was participating in the Fastnet with skipper Skip Novak when the boat lost her keel and capsized.
Before being rescued, the crew members were trapped underwater, inside the hull, for 40 minutes.
Despite the accident, the Duran Duran singer went on to complete what was then the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1985-86, with Magnus Olsson, his “flat footed friend”, among the crew.
We’re sailing down a wave
you and me
and all shipmates bunched like knuckles in the cockpit
a lazy fist punch through the spray and the spindrift
white arrow gleaming, touched by the sun
but your smile is brighter
and you laugh louder
than the howling old sea when she bangs on our Drum
Goodbye flat footed friend
and many other things which set you apart
for in the cold and damp
the world has need of folk like you
to keep the ember alive
when you blow on its heart
Simon Le Bon