SantaBarbara Cat Sailor Lost?

Does anyone have details of the report this morning on NPR (radio) about a French cat sailor lost overboard earlier this week outside Santa Barbara harbor?

This is all I have found so far, from the Santa Barbara Independent.

A 27-year-old has apparently vanished into the ocean after his boat capsized off Leadbetter Beach yesterday. High winds tipped over his catamaran around 6:30 p.m. Rescue crews search through yesterday evening—on land, on water and with searchlights once the sun went down. They continue to search today.

And this from modbee.com
LOS ANGELES —
Authorities are searching for a man whose sailboat capsized off the Santa Barbara coast (apparently March 26).

A Coast Guard official says the man was seen on the boat before it went over about 200 yards offshore around 7 p.m. Wednesday. The boat washed up on Leadbetter Beach about 20 minutes later.

Coast Guard and local agencies have used helicopters and rescue boats to search for the man through the night.

A small craft advisory is/was in effect for the Southern California coastline. Surf as high as nine feet was expected through Thursday.

From a posting on Sailing Anarchy:

"I saw the Hobie 16 guys sail out at Ledbetter and all I could get think was...these guys are nuts.
They had no PFD's and looked like amateur sailors based on their boat handling.
Big puffs at Ledbetter and it was even windier offshore, where they went.
At one point they were @ 2 miles offshore in 25 plus.

Sad thing when the sea raises it's hand and smacks those who do not show respect.

Bummer someone had to die to show us all, to respect the sea. "

There was another post there stating the body was found yesterday on the beach...doesn't jive with the NPR report this monring.

Bad scene <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Sorry for the persons family, etc..
If this is true, that is just STUPID behavior, going out in that weather at all, let alone without PFDs. Like driving after 15 beers, diving off a bridge into shallow water... etc etc.
Once again, people who don't know our sport look at this and think we are all a bunch of idiots.

OK, the report of a body being found yesterday was not correct. They are still looking, but are in recover mode, not Search & Rescue.

The body found the other day was the guy they lost about w week and half ago.

http://www.keyt.com/news/local

The guy that was caled by the HP and told his keelboat had become un-moored and was a drift? He apparently drove down the cost to see find it, then jump in the water to swim to it. Not sure he'd worked how how to get aboard if he had reached it.
Another dead sailor! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

From the various reports it sounds like there were TWO sailors on the cat.

There is no confirmation that it was a Hobie. Lots of people use that word generically to refer to any beach cat.

It sounds like the boat was only 200 yards offshore when it capsized, and since it washed ashore 20 minutes later, it sounds like there was an onshore wind, which is at least one good thing. But if the boat washed ashore, one would think the sailors would wash ashore, too, whether dead or alive.

What is the water temperature off Santa Barbara this time of year?

Cold enough to need a good full wetsuit or a drysuit. I spent a merry half hour in the water of Santa Barbara at this time of year in a dry suit and it was "refreshing".

Story I got was that they went out double hand, capsized, then after re-righting the one guy got left behind when the boat took off. Other guy couldn't find him on the return leg after he got turned around, then beached and ditched the boat to go get help. I was actually a little worried because I had just sold a 16 to another European 20ish guy the week before at Leadbetter, had to go checking to find it wasn't him...when you first hear about something like that esp. when it's local, weird feeling...

A post on SA from an I20 racer that pasted them on the way to start said it was a H16. He made some smart a$$ comment to them...which he now regrets obviously... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

It's too bad he came back to shore, because in that cold water, and no life jackets?, the guy on the Hobie was in the best place to try to find the other guy quickly.

I don't know. What would YOU have done in that situation? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
What if it was your wife or your husband or your child?

Heck, I sail around for quite a while just to try to retrieve a favorite hat I've lost overboard.