Pete Goss Press Conference in Nova Scotia

Details of the Press Conference held last night in Nova Scotia

On 13th December 2000 at 0115GMT the Hoechst Express docked at Halifax, Nova Scotia with the crew of Team Philips on board. The crew of seven were delighted to see land even under the cover of darkness and the lights of the bridge were a welcome sight.

A mobile phone was taken on board the Hoechst Express with the pilot and each of the crew phoned their families before docking. They cleared customs and immigration on board and were taken immediately via the ship's offices to their hotel for the press conference.

Approximately 40 media from the UK and Canada attended the conference.

Pete Goss began the press conference by thanking the Captain and crew of the Hoechst Express for their professionalism in carrying out the rescue. He then gave a description of Team Philips and the Team Philips project for those local journalists who had not followed it from the start. After the overview he opened the conference up to questions.

The first question was to do with the events leading up to the decision to abandon Team Philips. He described in detail the sea state accompanying the decision. "The sea was very confused with a storm Force 12 - easily of hurricane strength, which hit us mid afternoon on Saturday (9th December). The storm lasted approximately eight hours." Pete Goss added "I have never seen a storm like this before. The seas were easily 60 ft and at some points Team Philips' transom was 20 ft beneath the water". During this storm Team Philips took a real battering and this is when the secondary structural damage occurred to the pod. The best analogy that Pete gave is that of an internal wall of a house coming down. "Team Philips is the only reason that we made it through the storm". Said Pete. "It was the equivalent of a full on Southern Ocean storm."

The crew were worried that further damage would inhibit their ability to control the vessel. With another storm of equal intensity approaching and damage already sustained, the very difficult decision was made by Pete to put out a mayday.

The nearest vessel was the German container ship owned by Hapag Lloyd, the Hoechst Express. She arrived in seas that were still very confused and high. A pilot's door amidship was impossible to use for the transfer of crew because the seas were well above it. Due to this, it was necessary for Team Philips to move onto the lee side of the Hoechst Express. The Captain maintained a stable and slow speed while Pete steered Team Philip's into position alongside the ship.

A Jacob's Ladder (rope ladder with wooden struts) was dropped from the first deck down to Team Philip's hull. Amidst the storm the crew climbed one at a time up this ladder onto the deck of the container. It was a very difficult and dangerous operation as both Team Philips' hull and mast were continually making contact with the ship.

Pete Goss was the last to leave Team Philips. Once on board they watch her slowly slip away into the darkness. Andy Hindley said "She was so close that the crew were able to say a final farewell to her from the first deck. We even managed to stroke her mast as she slipped away".

She disappeared into the darkness and all that was left to see was a diminishing light, which appeared intermittently amongst the towering waves.

Once on board the crew were immediately led into the bar and given a cup of tea, food and dry clothes. There were no injuries sustained by any of the crew members, which is a testament to the seamanship of the crews on board both vessels.

More Information:

• www.teamphilips.com