S.V. Cynthia Woods
The S.V. Cynthia Woods was a sailing vessel owned by Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) and used by The TAMUG Sailing Team. It was manufactured in 2005 and donated to TAMUG by billionaire philanthropist and Texas A&M University graduate George P. Mitchell.[1] The Cynthia Woods was named for his wife Cynthia Woods Mitchell.
A photo of the crew of the S.V. Cynthia Woods before their 2008 departure for the Regata de Amigos in Mexico. | |
| Other names | Cape Fear 38 |
|---|---|
| Yacht club | Texas A&M University at Galveston |
| Nation | |
| Designer(s) | Nelson/Marek Yacht Design, Inc. |
| Builder |
|
| Launched | 2006 |
| Owner(s) | Texas A&M University - Galveston |
| Fate | Capsized June 6, 2008 in the Gulf of Mexico killing 1 crew member, the safety officer on board. |
| Specifications | |
| Type | Sloop ~ Fin Keel with Bulb |
| Displacement | 11,800 lb (5,400 kg) |
| Length | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Beam | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Draft | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Mast height | 48 ft (15 m) |
| Sail area | 800 sq ft (74 m2) |
| Crew |
|
2008 Vessel Capsize in Gulf of Mexico
On June 6, 2008, the Cynthia Woods set sail in the Regatta de Amigos with a 6-person crew consisting of the captain (a university employee), along with four sailing team members (TAMUG students), and one safety officer who was a volunteer. The sailing yacht commenced the sailboat race in Galveston, Texas at 2:00p.m. local time. The Cape Fear 38 was destined for a 638 nautical miles (1,182 km; 734 mi) salt water sailing cruise along the Gulf of Mexico coast to Veracruz, Mexico with the Regatta Amigos occurring at the Isla Mujeres island.[2]
The Cape Fear monohull is believed to have lost its 6 feet (1.8 m) bulb keel jeopardized by a fluctuating sea state in the night. The Northern Hemisphere subtropical zone was mercurial with severe weather encompassing Tropical Storm Alma and Tropical Storm Arthur developing as a perfect storm phenomenon situated along the east coast of Central America and the Yucatán Channel of the Caribbean Sea by late May and early June 2008.[3][4]
The Cape Fear 38 was equipped with two search and rescue transponders: a main one attached to the boat and a portable one provided by race officials for monitoring. The main transponder stopped working around midnight on June 6 and the portable stopped working around 9:00 a.m. the next morning.[5] The crew missed their scheduled 8:00 a.m. check-in call on June 7.[6]
Safety officer Roger Stone woke the crew in the lower deckhouse alerting the squad of the boat consuming seawater before Mr. Stone became displaced in the marginal sea.[5] A sailboat yacht matching the description of the missing Cape Fear 38 feet (12 m) monohull was spotted in a capsized state by a Coast Guard aircraft at 5:15 p.m. on June 8, 2008.[7] The navigational crew orderly escaped the turtling sloop while staying afloat using four personal flotation devices in four-to-six-foot seas for 26 hours before being found by the United States Coast Guard air-sea rescue and subsequently culled from the Gulf of Mexico waters.[5] The survivors were lifted to safety by helicopter at around 1:00 a.m. on June 8 and flown to a hospital in Galveston for treatment.[7][8]
Recovery of Cape Fear 38
During the premier A.M. hours of June 7, 2008, the Cape Fear 38 feet (12 m) sloop evolved into a distress signal with consequential vessel stability hardship conditions at a sea depth of 105 feet (32 m) remotely situated from the Texas Gulf Coast.[9] On June 19, 2008, the Cape Fear 38 recovery operation discovered the 6 feet (1.8 m) keel employing sonar at 27 nautical miles (50 km; 31 mi) from the Texas seacoast bearing south to southeast of Freeport, Texas.
See also
References
- ^ Suayan, John (March 2, 2010). "Mitchell company settles wrongful death suit from capsizal of 'Cynthia Woods'". The Southeast Texas Record. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ "Regata del Sol al Sol ~ International Race to Mexico". Regata del Sol al Sol History. Regata del Sol al Sol.
- ^ "Hurricane Season 2008: Tropical Storm Alma (Eastern Pacific Ocean)". Missions: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. May 29, 2008.
- ^ "Hurricane Season 2008: Tropical Storm Arthur (Atlantic Ocean)". Missions: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. June 2, 2008.
- ^ a b c Rice, Harvey (June 7, 2008). "Sailor missing after A&M boat capsizes dies 'a hero'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
- ^ Strong, Andrew L.; Smock, Catherine A. (July 17, 2009). "Final Investigation Report on the S/V Cynthia Woods" (pdf). The Office of General Counsel and the Internal Audit Department of The Texas A&M University System. p. 1. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
- ^ a b "5 of 6 missing sailors rescued from Gulf". CNN. June 8, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
- ^ US Coast Guard Rescue: Texas A&M crew of the Cynthia Woods on YouTube
- ^ Hart, Patricia (August 2008). "Troubled Waters" [The Inside Story of the Aggie Sailing Tragedy]. Texas Monthly.
External links
- "Coast Guard Releases Cynthia Woods Sinking Investigation Results". U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety. Coast Guard News. December 19, 2008.
- "Coast Guard To Award Gold Lifesaving Medal". U.S. Coast Guard People. Coast Guard News. July 24, 2009.
- "United States Coast Guard Honors Two Heroes of S/V Cynthia Woods Capsizing". Texas A&M - Galveston ~ Newsroom. Texas A&M University at Galveston. July 27, 2009.
- Media related to Automatic Identification System transponders at Wikimedia Commons
- Media related to Keels of sailboats at Wikimedia Commons