On Friday evening, just two hours into the Storm Trysail Club's annual 185-mile race from Stamford, CT, around Block Island and back, Jamie Boeckel, was knocked from the foredeck of Bob Towse's 66-foot sloop Blue Yankee and never recovered. Though the crew of the boat was an experienced and talented group including former America's Cup racers and commentators Peter Isler and Gary Jobson immediately executed a man-overboard maneuver, and fellow crew member Brock Callen dove into the 50-degree water to support Boeckel, the sailor ultimately was lost at sea. Boeckel was not wearing a life jacket. Neither was Callen, who with extraordinary stamina was still able to hold his shipmate up for several minutes.
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There is much more to this story. Please stop what you're doing right now and go to the SailNet website to read the rest of Dickison's story - plus the first person sidebar from Blue Yankee by Dobbs Davis, who was in the **** when this tragic incident occurred.
Link to full article...Alan Thompson
I20 - San Diego
