Osborne Clarke is mourning the loss of former real estate partner Simon Speirs, who died this weekend during an international sailing race.

Speirs (pictured) was taking part in the Clipper Round the World Race when he was swept overboard on Saturday. The crew was racing from South Africa to Australia at the time.

Speirs, who was 60, spent 30 years with Osborne Clarke in Bristol before retiring last year.

He specialised in commercial real estate, particularly investment and development, and was Osborne Clarke's head of property for nearly 10 years. He also spent time on the firm's management board.

In a statement Osborne Clarke said: "Simon spent more than 20 years of his career at Osborne Clarke and had a huge enthusiasm for the firm, which alongside his caring nature and his deep love of lawyering made him a highly popular and valued member of our team.

"Simon was also committed to raising money for charity and his friends at Osborne Clarke always followed his progress during his fundraising challenges, many of which involved sailing. The Clipper race was the greatest of those challenges and we are devastated that he has lost his life while pursuing his dream.

"Our thoughts are with Simon's family and friends at this difficult time."

According to a statement from Clipper, Speirs was recovered from the water within 36 minutes of being swept overboard but failed to regain consciousness and was pronounced dead. According to press reports, he became detached from the boat despite being attached to a safety tether.

In a blog post written earlier this month, Speirs detailed his experiences of the race:

"The high points are fantastic and probably greater than I anticipated. The beauty of the sky on starry nights without any lights around to interrupt your view; the awesome beauty of the deep ocean, a deep, deep blue; the birdlife, soaring and swooping effortlessly in what we would think of as a high wind; the wide open vistas of the ocean without sight of land or human influence or presence for weeks on end…

"So, am I having fun? Yes, I think so, although it is very hard work and not as unalloyed pleasure as my armchair anticipation hoped for. That said, it is an amazing experience and one that one could never experience in any other way."

Photo: Clipper