Cynthia Woods - should not have been at sea?

by Rosa Flores, Khou.com/Sail-World on 23 Jun 2008 As investigators from A&M Univesity look into what caused the Cynthia Woods’ keel to come off with the loss of one life and the endangering of five others last week, one local boat inspector has questioned if the boat should have been at sea at all.

According to Rosa Flores of Khou.com, Dick Frenzel’s knowledge about the 38-foot Cape Fear sailboat that went under off the Texas coast near Freeport is extensive. He was at one time responsible for inspecting boats at the Texas A&M maritime college in Galveston.

'The loss of life could have been prevented,' said Frenzel, who added that from what he knows of the Cynthia Woods, it should have never been in the regatta from Galveston to Mexico in the first place.

'The boat would not have passed the survey because it was lacking a lot of the safety equipment that is found on a boat that is going on an offshore voyage. And especially if it’s going to race,' he said.

The keel-less sailboat was salvaged from the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and was in dry-dock in Freeport, and the keel has now been located and retrieved from 100 feet of water..

Inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard are leading the investigation into what caused the boat to capsize. Texas A&M has also launched its own investigation into the fatal incident.

With the focus of the investigation on the keel of the Cynthia Woods and how it 'just fell off,' more attention should have been paid during the boat’s inspections, said Frenzel.

'If there was a problem with the keel, there is a very good chance that a good surveyor, familiar with this type of vessel, would have noted something that would have given him an alarm,' said Frenzel.

His cautionary tale comes as the boat’s manufacturer was defending its safety record. Cape Fear Yacht Works, which is owned by the son of the Galveston billionaire who donated the vessel to Texas A&M, said it has an 'extraordinary safety record.'

Kent Mitchell owns North Carolina-based Cape Fear Yacht Works, which built two, identical sailboats that his father George Mitchell donated to Texas A&M University in 2006. The Cynthia Woods -- named for the elder Mitchell’s wife -- and the George Phydias were specially commissioned for the Texas A&M University sailing programs, a spokeswoman for George Mitchell said.

As reported earlier in Sail-World, six members of the Texas A&M-Galveston Offshore Sailing Team were onboard the Cynthia Woods during the regatta. The boat capsized late Friday night and five of the crew huddled together with four life vests for about 26 hours before being rescued by the Coast Guard early Sunday morning, while one of the boat's safety officers, Roger Stone, lost his life after pushing two A&M students out of the boat as it capsized.

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Selected Letters from Readers:

Sender: Jeff Reinhold
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> Message: I've been watching this story with interest but have been disappointed with the Sail World coverage.
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>I was disappointed that you immediately turned this into a design debate. Design is good to talk about, but let's get facts before we start talking, please.
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> This week's story is an improvement; at least you point out that there could have been a maintenance issue. I think you are still missing something here though. Why were there only 4 life jackets for the 5 survivors? Were those on deck not wearing life jackets, at night? The 2 below claimed they were told to put life jackets on by the deceased sailor. 2 + 3 should equal 5, not 4. Also, I wonder why they got separated from their boat. Surely the 'experienced safety officer' would have known that it was better to stay with the still floating vessel. Who knows what happened or why, but I certainly am curious and it doesn't appear anyone else is asking the same questions.
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Sender: Paul Brabec

Message: Reader Jeff Reinhold makes an excellent point about staying with the boat. Fortunately I have never been in the situation of the crew of the Cynthia Woods, however when I first started sailing I was informed by the skipper of the boat I started crewing on that one of the cardinal rules was: Stay with the boat and always step up into the lifeboat. Here, it sounds as though the crew could have climbed atop the hull and been at least as safe as they were in the water...probably safer. But then, I wasn't there. Maybe they got separated from the boat in the dark. A shame that anyone died, but the good news is that the others survived.