SV Cynthia Woods

The SV Cynthia Woods was a sailing vessel owned by Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) and used by The TAMUG Sailing Team. It was manufactured in 2005 and donated to TAMUG by George P. Mitchell.[1] The Cynthia Woods was named for his wife Cynthia Woods Mitchell.

SV Cynthia Woods
A photo of the crew of the S.V. Cynthia Woods before their 2008 departure for the Regata de Amigos in Mexico.
Other namesCape Fear 38
Yacht club Texas A&M University at Galveston
NationUnited States
Designer(s)Nelson/Marek Yacht Design, Inc.
Builder
Launched2006
Owner(s)Texas A&M University - Galveston
FateCapsized June 6, 2008 in the Gulf of Mexico killing 1 crew member, the safety officer on board.
Specifications
TypeSloop ~ Fin Keel with Bulb
Displacement11,800 lb (5,400 kg)
Length38 ft (12 m)
Beam11 ft (3.4 m)
Draft6 ft (1.8 m)
Mast height48 ft (15 m)
Sail area800 sq ft (74 m2)
Crew
  • Roger Stone
  • Steven Conway
  • Ross Busby
  • Steven Guy
  • Joe Savana
  • Travis Wright

2008 vessel capsize in Gulf of Mexico

On June 6, 2008, the Cynthia Woods set sail in the Regatta de Amigos with a 6-person crew consisting of the captain (a university employee), along with four sailing team members (TAMUG students), and one safety officer who was a volunteer. The sailing yacht commenced the sailboat race in Galveston, Texas at 2:00p.m. local time. The Cape Fear 38 was destined for a 638 nautical miles (1,182 km; 734 mi) salt water sailing cruise along the Gulf of Mexico coast to Veracruz, Mexico with the Regatta Amigos occurring at the Isla Mujeres island.[2]

Sailboat keel with cigar-shaped fin bulb

The Cape Fear monohull is believed to have lost its 6 feet (1.8 m) bulb keel jeopardized by a fluctuating sea state in the night. The Northern Hemisphere subtropical zone was mercurial with severe weather encompassing Tropical Storm Alma and Tropical Storm Arthur developing as a perfect storm phenomenon situated along the east coast of Central America and the Yucatán Channel of the Caribbean Sea by late May and early June 2008.[3][4]

The Cape Fear 38 was equipped with two search and rescue transponders: a main one attached to the boat and a portable one provided by race officials for monitoring. The main transponder stopped working around midnight on June 6 and the portable stopped working around 9:00 a.m. the next morning.[5] The crew missed their scheduled 8:00 a.m. check-in call on June 7.[6]

Safety officer Roger Stone woke the crew in the lower deckhouse alerting the squad of the boat consuming seawater before Mr. Stone became displaced in the marginal sea.[5] A sailboat matching the description of the missing Cape Fear 38 feet (12 m) monohull was spotted in a capsized state by a Coast Guard aircraft at 5:15 p.m. on June 8, 2008.[7] The navigational crew orderly escaped the turtling sloop while staying afloat using four personal flotation devices in four-to-six-foot seas for 26 hours before being found by the United States Coast Guard air-sea rescue and subsequently culled from the Gulf of Mexico waters.[5] The survivors were lifted to safety by helicopter at around 1:00 a.m. on June 8 and flown to a hospital in Galveston for treatment.[7][8]

See also

References
  1. Suayan, John (March 2, 2010). "Mitchell company settles wrongful death suit from capsizal of 'Cynthia Woods'". The Southeast Texas Record. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  2. "Regata del Sol al Sol ~ International Race to Mexico". Regata del Sol al Sol History. Regata del Sol al Sol.
  3. "Hurricane Season 2008: Tropical Storm Alma (Eastern Pacific Ocean)". Missions: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. May 29, 2008.
  4. "Hurricane Season 2008: Tropical Storm Arthur (Atlantic Ocean)". Missions: Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. June 2, 2008.
  5. Rice, Harvey (June 7, 2008). "Sailor missing after A&M boat capsizes dies 'a hero'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  6. Strong, Andrew L.; Smock, Catherine A. (July 17, 2009). "Final Investigation Report on the S/V Cynthia Woods" (pdf). The Office of General Counsel and the Internal Audit Department of The Texas A&M University System. p. 1. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  7. "5 of 6 missing sailors rescued from Gulf". CNN. June 8, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  8. US Coast Guard Rescue: Texas A&M crew of the Cynthia Woods on YouTube
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