Cynthia Woods Tragedy - Waiting for Answers

by on 3 Dec 2008 Houston Chronicle reporters Claudia Feldman and Mike Tolson continue a campaign to make sure that the tragic capsize of the sailing boat Cynthia Woods many months ago is not forgotten.

In the June 2008 incident safety officer Roger Stone died saving crew members of the Cape Fear yacht Cynthia Woods when it capsized during a race in the Gulf of Mexico, after the boat lost its keel.

The five remaining crew members held hands in the ocean for 26 hours, and were only found by the lucky sighting of a small torchlight. (see multiple Sail-World stories on 'Cynthia Wood' by using the search function in the top right hand corner of your screen)

For the past six months, both the U.S. Coast Guard and A&M have been pursuing their own separate technical investigations, and the Coast Guard, when asked, said that their report would be released within a month, and the A&M University said that theirs would be released soon after.

What the Houston Chronicle - and many others - want to know, is:

WHY did the Texas A&M sailboat lost its keel — a piece it had to have to stay afloat?

Was it a tragic flaw in the design or construction of the boat?

Was it a mistake in repairing the boat, which had experienced at least four groundings or collisions with submerged structures before June 6?

Was the school at fault for not making sure that the repaired boat was still seaworthy?

The answers are promised soon, and the Chronicle is making sure no-one forgets.

Meanwhile, Linda Stone and her children, Eric and Elizabeth, are trying to go on with their lives.

“It’s one of those things that upsets me when I think about it,” Linda told the Chronicle. “We’re not even close to being healed.”