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May 10th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Mr Simpson, who was affectionately known as “Bart” after the
television show character, was married to Leah Simpson and had an infant
son, Freddie.
Andrew Simpson with his wife Leah after the 2008 Olympics
He was one of 12 people pulled from the water when the 72-foot catamaran
flipped over near San Francisco’s Treasure Island shortly after 1pm.
A support boat took him aboard and carried him to the nearby St Francis Yacht
Club, where paramedics performed CPR. He died shortly afterwards.
One other crew member suffered minor injuries.
It remains unclear why the racing vessel flipped over but wind conditions were
said to be stronger than normal. The bright red boat could yesterday be seen
still flipped over in the bay.
He was appointed an MBE in 2009 for his services to sport.
Mr Simpson and sailing partner Iain Percy, a childhood friend, took gold in
Beijing in 2008 after narrowly besting the Swedish team in the Star event.
The pair came in silver in the same event during the 2012 London Olympics,
competing from the Isle of Portland in Dorset.
Mr Simpson was born in Chertsey, Surrey, and attended Pangbourne College in
Berkshire before studying economics at University College London.
Many of his fellow Olympians took to Twitter to pay tribute, including Kate
MacGregor, who compteed in female sailing in the 2012 games.
Team Artemis Racing capzises during the America’s Cup World Series off
Naples in April 2012 (Getty Images)
The Artemis team was in training for the annual America’s Cup, which is due to
begin on July 4 and run through until September. The Artemis team was due to
challenge the Oracle Team USA for the trophy.
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