Please select your home edition
Edition
Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Leaderboard

Mystery of Newport to Ensenada fatal yacht race accident continues

by Greg Hardesty on 5 May 2012
Aegean at the start of the race - Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race 2012 Susan Hoffman
At 77, veteran sailor Chuck Brewer knows his way around the waters off Orange County and beyond – including the Coronado Islands off Baja California where, nearly a week ago, four yachtsmen lost their lives in a mysterious accident during the annual Newport Beach to Ensenada race.

Brewer, a well-known sailor who lives on Lido Isle, had his weekly breakfast with three sailing buddies Thursday, and most of the talk centered on the grim fate of the 37-foot Aegean, a Hunter 376 berthed in Redondo Beach that was found shattered into pieces Saturday.

The sailing community continues to buzz with speculation about how a veteran crew of four sailors could end up becoming the first fatalities in the 65-year history of the 125-mile competition -- a race regarded as more benign than dangerous.

Brewer raced the same night of the Aegean, and he's come to believe that the boat smashed into a sheer cliff at the tip of North Coronado island, where the Aegean's GPS-based tracking system made its last transmission around 1:30 a.m. on April 28.

Later Saturday, after responding to reports of small pieces of debris by a passing boater, the U.S. Coast Guard found the bodies of three of the Aegean sailors floating in a roughly 2-mile-wide debris field southwest of North Coronado island, about 15 miles south of San Diego.

Kevin Eric Rudolph, 53, of Manhattan Beach, died of blunt-force trauma to the head and neck, according to the San Diego County Coroner; Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Florida, died of blunt-force head injuries, and William Reed Johnson, 57, of Torrance, succumbed to multiple blunt-force injuries, according to the coroner.

A search for the body of skipper Theo Mavromatis, 49, of Redondo Beach, was called off Sunday after 28 hours.

Brewer isn't alone in his theory that the crew of the Aegean, perhaps with the yacht's motor on and engaged in autopilot on a virtually windless night, collided with the cliff and, during high tide, was battered against the rocks for hours by swells of 4-6 feet in moderate but choppy seas.

'It's the most likely scenario right now,' the veteran yachtsman said.

Read the full story on http://www.ocregister.com/news/aegean-352663-brewer-cornelius.html!The_Orange_County_Register_news
Zhik 2024 DecemberHenri-Lloyd Dynamic RangesMRT AIS Man Overboard Beacons AUS / NZ

Related Articles

Admiral's Cup Paul Wyeth Thursday Photo Gallery
The battle points ahead of the Fastnet race intense The six-race inshore series has now been completed with an unstable northerly, swinging to the west later. The starts were particularly intense as the teams battled for points ahead of the Fastnet, and Paul Wyeth was on hand to capture the action.
Posted today at 4:18 am
Admiral's Cup 2025 | D3 Inshore Racing Videos
More light and tricky conditions on the Solent. Three races? More light and tricky conditions on the Solent. Three races?
Posted today at 1:55 am
O'pen Skiff World Championship in Japan
Team USA delivers a solid performance Five US sailors traveled to Nishinomiya, Japan for six days of challenging conditions, hot temperatures, and world class sailing. USA sailor Lucas Doran was in third place in the U17 fleet before the final day of racing.
Posted on 24 Jul
Admirals Cup: Day 4 - All hanging on the Fastnet.
The end of the beginning of the 2025 Admirals' Cup. Rán runs aground - claims redress. Today marked the End of the Beginning of the 2025 Admirals' Cup with the conclusion of Inshore racing on what is known as the "Central Solent". The Baltic teams' TP52 Rán hit a sandbank and has claimed redress.
Posted on 24 Jul
Palm Beach Motor Yachts Trans-Tasman 49ers Series
Happening for the first time at Hamilton Island Race Week Palm Beach Motor Yachts is proud to be the naming rights sponsor of the Palm Beach Motor Yachts Trans-Tasman 49er Series, which will debut at the 2025 Hamilton Island Race Week, celebrating its 40th edition in August.
Posted on 24 Jul
Less than 48 hours to Rolex Fastnet Race
Battle lines are being drawn up Battle lines are being drawn up for the RORC's centenary Rolex Fastnet Race. As the final day of Admiral's Cup inshore racing took place in the Solent, so several yachts due to take part in Saturday's main event were out training.
Posted on 24 Jul
A Day at the WASZP Games
Video interviews with some of the sailors and supporters of the class The WASZP Games 2025, being held at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy in the UK, has attracted 248 of the foiling dinghies to take part in a week of varied and high intensity racing.
Posted on 24 Jul
Admiral's Cup David Maynard Thursday Gallery
First race of the day, captured for our viewing pleasure David Maynard was out on the water to catch the action from the first on Thursday of the Admiral's Cup Inshore Racing.
Posted on 24 Jul
World Sailing's inaugural Impact Report
Charting a new course for a sustainable future in sport World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport of sailing, today released its first Impact Report, a comprehensive overview of the federation's significant progress in environmental sustainability and social contribution.
Posted on 24 Jul
Yoann Richomme returns to Fastnet
Says Elodie Bonafous' is the boat to beat This weekend's biennial Rolex Fastnet Race - one of the oldest classics in sailing - sees the IMOCA Class return to the racetrack, with eight boats on the startline on Saturday for what is the second round of this year's IMOCA Globe Series Championship.
Posted on 24 Jul