Australian/Dutch sailor Mitch Booth released from hospital after Texel accident

by Event media on 20 Jun 2002 Mitch Booth was released from hospital yesterday on the 18th of June after being seriously injured when the boat pitch polled at full speed during the Round Texel on Saturday June 15.

Booth got scanned in the MRI Centre in Amsterdam. Conclusion was a severe
damaging of the lower back muscle. Tomorrow physiotherapy will to start.
Booth still has a lot of trouble to move and will be out of the running for
some three weeks. It does not look like he and his EDS Sailing Team will be
competing in Kiel Week.

Mitch Booth commented. 'In a flash everything passes through your mind. Then
you only want to straighten the boat and keep going. But you feel great pain

and you know things are not good! However I helped getting the boat on its
feet. Wow, things can go wrong quickly. After that I have spent three days
staring at the sky. In the rescue boat in the ambulance and in the hospital
being completely stabilised. Enough time to think about life and what can
happen. After all I am very relieved that I have only seriously damaged my
muscles and that I can think about the future. Now that we have done all the
MRI scans and we can see that things will cure the pain is much easier to
bare.'

See a picture sequence of the accident at:
http://www.annemiekvankinderen.nl/rtx2002boothdercksen/