Leaders of the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, were held up for short period with a scary situation after one of their crew members went overboard into the open ocean.
Alex Gough was uninjured in the event but captain David Witt says the experience should serve as a lesson to the entire crew.
"The main thing is, we got him back on board. He’s safe. But I think it’s shown everyone how hard it is to see the guy in the water," he said.
"Even on a sunny day, 18 knots of wind… You wouldn't want to be doing this in 20 knots in the dark."
Gough was washed overboard by a wave during a sail change.
"He went out on the outrigger, I was driving, and we went off a big sea and it picked him up threw him off, like a horse," skipper David Witt said.
Witt pointed out that Gough had gone out on the outrigger without a harness or lifejacket and wasn't tethered to the boat - but he was more annoyed the the Australian had attempted the manouver without telling him.
"I was pretty stupid," Gough said.
"Luckily the guys were on to it. They turned around bloody quickly."
SHK/Scallywag currently leads leg four with 2,300 nautical miles left to sail to the finish line in Hong Kong.
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