Family missing at sea as search off California coast continues

[raccoon]

Source: CNN

“This is the Charm Blow, we are abandoning ship.” With that message — delivered at 4:20 p.m. Sunday — radio communication between the boat and the Coast Guard went dead.

Since then, searchers have been scouring the waters off San Francisco for the reported occupants of a 29-foot sailboat — a couple, their 4-year-old child and the child’s cousin, who the Coast Guard said is younger than 8.

The man had called the Coast Guard an hour earlier to say that the boat had begun taking on water and its electronics were failing, the Coast Guard said. At that time, the boat was some 65 miles off Pillar Point, south of San Francisco.

The four might have boarded a life raft, said the Coast Guard, which appealed to the public for help Monday in identifying the missing seafarers.


Read more: http://pix11.com/2013/02/26/family-missing-at-sea-as-search-off-california-coast-continues/#ixzz2M1g7LvMS

[MynameisBlarney]

1. Oh man

I hope they're all gonna be ok.

[cbayer]

2. The weather was really rough in SoCal over the weekend. Don't know about NorCal.

I hope they are ok, but it doesn't sound good at all.

[sulphurdunn]

3. Sixty-five miles

off shore seems a long way out for a 29 ft. sailboat.

[CalFresh]

5. Correct.

It would take a long time to sail 65 miles out to sea. Something is not right about this. Small boat, little kids on board? I don't buy it.

[Wernothelpless]

6. My thoughts exactly ...

Having lived in that area for over 30 years I can tell you it would be out of the ordinary for anyone to take a boat of this size that far out on a Sunday afternoon cruise ... most folks cruise the shoreline, but 65 miles out? ... uncommon ...

[Brother Buzz]

11. Sixty-five miles out is not an indication of a day cruise

Going up or down the coast, sailing sixty-five miles from the coast is not a stretch for west coast cruising. Sailors often punch out a bit to allow a margin of safety for a night tack, taking land out of play, or even to set themselves up for the mother-of-all kite-runs. Often, boats will go out farther to find more predictable winds, too, but that's more common for Fall conditions; they had plenty of wind.

[Wernothelpless]

13. If this boat sailed at the average of about 4 mph ...

How long would it have taken for them to get out that far? ... for me, it doesn't add up ... makes no sense ...

[Brother Buzz]

15. You are assuming the phantom boat left port on Sunday

I suggest the boat, if there was one, could have been at sea for days from either southern California, or some port north.

For me, what doesn't add up is the fact nobody knows of the boat. I made my living building, maintaining, and racing sailboats for years and grew to understand the boating community; nothing happens along the waterfront communities without someone knowing about it. Nothing. Makes no sense unless it was a hoax.

[sulphurdunn]

16. And it's February

[slackmaster]

10. It would be insane to take on a trip like that without having a documented plan

Somewhere a harbormaster would know about the vessel and where it was supposed to be.

I too am suspecting a hoax here.

[Wernothelpless]

4. Sounding more and more like a hoax ...

There is no boat registered as the Charmblow and nobody has come forward with a missing family or the parent of the cousin .. nobody seems to know of this boat ...

One person who has heard the distress call did not think it sounded like "Charmblow" ...

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/pls/webpls/cgv_pkg.vessel_id_list?vessel_id_in=670895

Another registered boat called the "CHARGLOW-1" was found listed ...

[Laurian]

8. I hate to seem heartless, but I'm wondering the same

Wouldn't someone be able to identify a missing family and the boat they were on? Last i heard, they didt even know the name of the family. Too much missing information here.

[raccoon]

9. Looks like you may be right. May be another balloon-boy story.

Coast Guard suspends search for family missing at sea, citing possible hoax


Article says the mission’s cost has reached hundreds of thousands of dollars since Sunday.


Read more: http://pix11.com/2013/02/26/family-missing-at-sea-as-search-off-california-coast-continues/#ixzz2M2JSsQNQ
Read more at http://pix11.com/2013/02/26/family-missing-at-sea-as-search-off-california-coast-continues/#AHru1bsPY0HJvhVe.99

Read more: http://pix11.com/2013/02/26/family-missing-at-sea-as-search-off-california-coast-continues/#ixzz2M2IkmLG5

If it turns out it is a hoax, the perp ought to reimburse for money wasted in searching.

[MynameisBlarney]

7. We installed a John Deere engine

in a customers fishing vessel recently.
And when we sea-trialed it after the install finalization, we saw that the tunnel hull for the prop wasn't right, they needed to do work on the skeg and that it was top heavy. They did not have a radio, a gps, or even a compass.
Not sea worthy basically.
So...they took it out on a very windy weekend, got swamped in heavy seas, rolled and broke apart on the rocks, and someone lost their life because of it.

Unless you're an experienced open ocean boater. Do not take out a boat you're not familiar with on anything less than a perfect day.
Even then, don't trust the ocean or your vessel.
ALWAYS prepare for the worst.

[Eugene]

12. Coast Guard calls off search for sailboat

Source: USA Today

Coast Guard calls off search for sailboat

Elizabeth Weise and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY 3:52p.m. EST February 26, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard, after scouring 20,000 square miles of ocean for two days, called off a rescue mission Tuesday for a mystery sailboat reported capsized off the Monterey coast with four people aboard.

"We weren't able to find any vessel, any signs of debris, we couldn't find anything that would indicate there had been an incident," said Thomas McKenzie, a Coast spokesman out of the Yerba Buena command in San Francisco.

The vessel was reported taking on water at 4:20 p.m. local time Sunday when a man sent a message on marine radio reporting that he, his wife, their 4-year-old son and his cousin were on a 29-foot sailboat with failing electronics.

Radio contact was lost after the operator of the sailboat said the passengers were abandoning ship.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/26/coast-guard-missing-sailboat-audio-california/1948057/

[Wernothelpless]

14. In listening to that distress call ...

Does anyone else think the voice sounds like a drunk? ... his speech is impaired ...