The circumstances surrounding the death of a crew member on ARC yacht Agecanonix at the weekend are not yet known, according to rally organisers the World Cruising Club.

Late on Friday 26 November, a Mayday call was made from Agecanonix requesting a medical evacuation. Sadly, injured crew member Max Delannoy was declared dead before any outside help could be provided.

Agecanonix, an X-Yachts X4³, was sailing with a three-man, all-French crew as part of the ARC IRC Racing Division and had opted for a course well to the north of the rhumb line route to Saint Lucia, aiming to avoid the light winds affecting the southerly route close to Cape Verde.

MRCC France Gris-Nez were initially involved in controlling the incident, before passing over to MRCC Ponta Delgada in the Azores as the closest station to the Agecanonix.

At the request of MRCC, the cruise ship PV Mein Schiff 1 diverted to evacuate Philippe Anglade, who was also injured; Jean-Philippe Anglade; and the body of Max Delannoy.

PV Mein Schiff 1 arrived at the distress position as planned around 21:30 UTC on Saturday 27 November. Weather locally had easterly Force 8 winds with rough seas of four to five metres.

The larger vessel was positioned to create a lee for the rescue operation. After assessing the situation, the ship’s rescue boat was deployed and started approaching the Agecanonix.

During this time winds started gusting to more than 40 knots and Agecanonix started moving out of control, so the rescue operation had to be aborted. PV Mein Schiff 1 then remained in the vicinity waiting for the weather to improve and for daylight.

At around 14:00 UTC on Sunday 28th November, MRCC Ponta Delgada reported that the rescue operation was successfully completed, with both crew and the deceased safely on board, and PV Mein Schiff 1 had set course for Funchal in Madeira.

The Agecanonix has been abandoned at approximate position 29° 3.71 N, 026° 30.38 W and continues to be tracked by MRCC via the onboard YB tracker.

The World Cruising Club said: “Our thoughts are very much with the Anglade and Delannoy families during this sad and difficult time.

“World Cruising Club would also like to express their sincere gratitude to all the staff at the MRCC's involved in coordinating the incident, and in particular to the Captain, officers and crew of PV Mein Schiff 1.”

Five Irish boats are taking part in this year’s ARC and ARC+ transatlantic rally which set sail from the Canary Islands earlier this month, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.