5 Sailors Stranded 26 Hrs. In Gulf Rescued

Sixth Sailor Still Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Texas Coast

(AP)  A Coast Guard helicopter crew early Sunday rescued five regatta competitors who had drifted for 26 hours in the Gulf of Mexico after their boat capsized.

Rescuers were continuing to search for a missing sailor, identified as boat safety officer Roger Stone.

The search started after the 38-foot Cynthia Woods missed a radio check Saturday morning. The crew included four college students and two safety officers.

A helicopter crew from Air Station Houston pulled the five men from the water 23 miles south of Freeport, Texas, Petty Officer Renee C. Aiello said Sunday. They had drifted about five miles northwest of their capsized boat.

They were taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where all five were listed in good condition. They were suffering from sunburn and dehydration, said R. Bowen Loftin, CEO of Texas A&M at Galveston.

"I've talked to all of them and they're all doing fine," he said. "They were extremely happy to be alive."

Three of the students - Steven Guy, Joe Savana and Travis Wright - attend Texas A&M at Galveston, the school said in a news release. The fourth, Ross James Buzbee, attends Texas A&M in College Station, the school said.

The other safety officer was identified as Steve Conway of Texas A&M at Galveston.

The boat, which lost communication around midnight Friday, was competing in the Regata de Amigos. The race, which covers 610 nautical miles from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico, started Friday and continues into next week.

Coast Guard officials said the keel of the overturned vessel was ripped off, indicating the sailboat may have hit something in the water, according to the school. Race director Kevin Box said the loss of the keel can cause a boat to overturn in seconds.

The five who were rescued stayed afloat with four life vests in 4 to 6-foot seas, Loftin said. A few were below deck when the boat capsized. They said Stone was not among them when they went into the water, Loftin said.

It was Conway who kept the group together in the water and used a flashlight to signal Coast Guard searchers, Loftin said.

The boat went missing 11 miles south of Matagorda, which is about 110 miles down the coast from Galveston.

[lawfox]

Roger Stone is a courageous hero, pure and simple. A structural failure at night lead to to an evacuation in a dynamic environment, up became down, and the water rushed in. As a safety officer, he saw to it that everyone else was off the boat.
Rest in Peace - you will be remembered for your courage and valor.

[m0nkeyb0nes]

j-whitman, you are a classless moron, do the world a favor and get neutered (although I imagine everything on you is as limp as your posting).

[Meg003]

mjp501
So, mjp501, do guys fishing with bass boats on rivers deserve rescue? Kids with floats in public pools? People who crash pickups on the way to the plant, perhaps, but not those in BMWs on the way to the club? Can you draw us up some guidelines, just so we know who to help?

[conway_a]

In addition, I think you''re picturing this boat quite a bit bigger than it actually is. This was a relatively small sailboat, not a pleasure boat where you can lay on the deck and sunbathe. The boat did not capsize due to any fault of the sailors. It capsized when the keel came off the boat.

[conway_a]

Are you serious! Wow do you have it wrong! These were college students participating in their sport. The two safety officers were volunteers. The boat is donated. They were not lounging on a stranded yhaht waiting for rescue, they were in the water, sharing life jackets and treading water, fighting for their life. If a bus with a college sports team crashed on the way to a competition, would you say ''no wonder it crashed, there was only 1 coach for every 2 athletes aboard.'' My dad was one of the safety officers and is a hero. The other safety officer, Roger, is also a hero and we pray he will be found soon.

[sistatee-2009]

They only had TWO safety officers on the boat? No wonder it sank.

[hbevis]

"Thank God you''''ve arrived! We were down to our domestic wines and week old caviar."

WHAT KIND OF IDIOTIC REMARK IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE? THIS IS NOT A TIME TO BE MAKING LIGHT OF THE SITUATION. ONE MAN DEAD AND ALL THE OTHERS WERE IN DIRE PERIL FOR THEIR LIVES. I WORKED FOR THE NAVY IN THE GULF AND BEING OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND AND HAVING BAD WEATHER IS A VERY VERY BAD THING.