Singer Le Bon undeterred by yacht ordeal

Pop star Simon Le Bon today told about his plans to compete in the same 608-mile yacht race in which he almost died 20 years ago.

The 46-year-old Duran Duran frontman will sail on Drum, the same boat on which he had his brush with death in 1985, in the forthcoming Rolex Fastnet Yacht race.

Le Bon made his announcement in Glasgow along with local millionaire car dealer Sir Arnold Clark, who now owns the yacht.

Le Bon, who owned the 77-ft boat during the height of his 1980s pop career, cheated death when it capsized off the Falmouth coast after being caught up in bad weather in the 1985 Fastnet race.

The keel fell off, causing the boat to roll and trapping Le Bon under the hull.

Several members of the original crew will also sail with the pop star in the 2005 competition, on August 7.

Speaking on the deck of Drum, Le Bon said: “We felt we ought to prove to ourselves that we could finish the race given a sound boat, which we’ve got now.

“It’s a bit of sentimentalism really. We all have very fond feelings for the boat.”

Recalling the day of the accident, he told how he had to dive under the boat to escape to the surface.

He added: “I remember being asleep, hearing a big bang, a bunch of sails and people falling on top of me and then there was a mad scramble.”

The biennial Fastnet race, which will begin off Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, has attracted 250 entrants this year and is considered a tough test for crews who face complex tidal currents and changing weather conditions.