Helicopter to airlift injured crew member from Gold Coast Australia – MEDIA RELEASE

A search and rescue helicopter has been dispatched from Taiwan to airlift an injured crew member from Gold Coast Australia, one of the ten 68-foot yachts competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race.
Tim Burgess, 30, a researcher from Petersham, NSW, Australia, has broken his left leg above the knee. The incident happened on the foredeck during a headsail change.
Skipper, Richard Hewson, informed the Race Office by telephone at 0200 UTC. He reported that Tim was in good spirits and had been given morphine and was being looked after by nurses and fellow crew members, Deborah Miller, from Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, and Deborah Grant, from Malanda, Queensland.
De Lage Landen, which was eight miles away from Gold Coast Australia at the time, had already diverted to assist if necessary as they have two doctors among the crew. The Race Office has asked De Lage Landen, to stay with Gold Coast Australia while they proceed towards Tan Shui in Taiwan, as requested by the Taiwanese Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC).
If it is possible in the tough conditions, the helicopter will airlift Tim from the yacht and take him to hospital in the capital, Taipei. The Clipper Race fleet is currently battling strong north easterly headwinds of approximately 30 knots after passing through the Luzon Strait to race up the east coast of Taiwan to Qingdao, China. The sea state is extremely challenging, with steep four-metre waves. Gold Coast Australia was approximately 600 miles from the finish line when the incident happened. The rest of the crew on board are safe and well.