Cynthia Woods Fatal Capsize - the Suing Starts

by Des Ryan on 11 Jul 2008 'Keels don't fall off boats. They should be built so they don't fall off.'

In this seemingly innocent statement to the Houston Chronicle by the widow of the safety officer who died saving crew members of the Cape Fear yacht Cynthia Woods when it capsized during a race in the Gulf of Mexico, she has summed up the feelings of a growing number of sailors, both cruisers and racers.

Roger Stone's widow Linda is suing the boat's designer, builder and repairer over the incident, but not the owner of the boat, the Texas A&M University, whom she claims did nothing wrong, as they acquired and repaired the boat in good faith and didn't pretend to be experts.

Cape Fear Yacht Works have given drawings and other data to the U.S. Coast Guard, but have refused to hand the same data over to Mrs Stone's lawyers. 'This made the suit inevitable' said Randy Sorrel, lawyer for the widow.

Linda Stone is not suing for monetary damages, but claims that she wants to get a definitive answer on the reasons for the keel failure and to prevent it from recurring on similar boats.

Bravo Linda - there are many sailors out here watching who would also like to prevent it from recurring, but, just to be sure of your noble intentions, will you be giving any damages awarded to charity?