Yachtsman sails on alone after his brother drowns in Atlantic race

A yachtsman was facing a 1,000-mile solo journey across the Atlantic last night after his brother was washed overboard by a huge wave.

David Hitchcock, 52, who lives in Spain, was advised for his own safety to abandon his brother Philip after he was thrown into the ocean and died, apparently of a heart attack. Storms made it too dangerous to bring him aboard the yacht.

The brothers were almost half way into the 2,700-mile Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, from the Canary Islands to St Lucia, when the boat, the Toutazimut, was hit by storms on Saturday.

Philip Hitchcock, a policeman aged 47 from Kent, was swept overboard. His brother sent a mayday signal and other boats in the race went to help.

But although Philip was attached to the yacht by a lifeline it was impossible to save him, his father, Eric Hitchcock, said.

David Hitchcock managed to haul his dead brother onto a dinghy, which he towed behind the yacht, but the weight made it difficult to make progress. On the advice of the Coastguard, he eventually cut loose the dingy, which has a beacon giving its position. Organisers of the race said yesterday that the high seas meant it was still too dangerous to attempt a recovery.

Eric Hitchcock, from East Sussex, who is in contact with his surviving son by satellite phone, said David thought his brother had had a heart attack when he hit the water. Yesterday, David was heading towards the Caribbean at slow speed but rescue vessels were unable to get close enough to put someone on board.

Mr Hitchcock, 76, said: "David has been through a horrendous experience. He still has a long journey ahead of him without his brother. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were dreadful. Once Phil was in the water he stood no chance."

Simon Walker, the managing director of Challenge Business, which runs the event, said it was still unclear what exactly had happened.

"We know Phil was at the boom end of the boat. Our focus now is on David and making sure he is okay. He is out there on his own. He has lost a crew member and his brother," he said. "We have a yacht alongside his boat and we plan to transfer people on to his craft to help him sail, but it is too dangerous at the moment."

A spokesman for Kent Police said David Hitchcock had always dreamt of taking part in the rally, which is mainly for amateur sailors and has been running for 17 years.