John Fisher, 47, was competing in the Volvo Ocean Race with the team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag when he fell overboard 1,400 miles west of Cape Horn, Chile, on Monday, according to a statement from Volvo Ocean Race president Richard Brisius. Statement by Lee Seng Huang and Sun Hung Kai & Co: owner and sponsor of Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag: “We are... Posted by Sun Hung Kai & Co on Monday, March 26, 2018 Given the cold water and fierce conditions, “We must now presume that John has been lost at sea,” race president Richard Brisius said in a statement on Tuesday that came nearly 24 hours after Mr Fisher went overboard. There is daylight, but weather conditions are forecast to deteriorate in the coming hours. https://t.co/XMWYNzgs6x — Sun Hung Kai Scallywag (@scallywaghk) March 26, 2018

Officials said that given the gale force conditions, it is not an option to divert any of the other six yachts, which are at least 200 miles east and downwind of Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, to assist in the search. A ship was diverted to assist Team Sun Hung Kai / Scallywag with the rescue operation, but was more than a day away from the yacht at the time of Brisius' statement.
A British yachtsman falls overboard from Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag. A search and rescue operation launches, with one ship diverting from over 400 nautical miles away.