All I know is what I read in the papers!!! That's not quite true. I also race sailboats and have some appreciation for the circumstances. This was not just any race. This was the 57th annual regatta spanning two weekends with lots of social happenings. How do I know? Read the Notice of Race here: http://fairhopeyachtclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/57DIRaceNOR2015.pdf. Notice that the first start was at 9:30 Saturday morning. According to an AP report the Mational Weather Service didn't issue a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 1:36 that afternoon followed by a warning less than an hour later. By that time lots of boats were too far away to get back. 14 minutes in the middle of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJF7i5z9lQ4 Note how long it took to get PFDs on... It wasn't this caliber of boat that capsized. Can't say anything about the small sloop tith full sails they passed but AP's picture this morning showed an upsidedown beach cat. I think 'negligence' on the part of the race committee is too strong.

Here is what the USCG captain in charge of Mobile District said last night: Ten vessels capsized/went down, but only three were involved in the regatta. Of the dead and missing. I think he said only two were regatta participants. So there were many other people out on the bay that day making the same poor decision I saw several sailboaters make leaving the marina we were sheltering in. One guy came flying back tailed by the storm running faster than I have ever seen a sailboat run through a marina. As I stated before, we were ill disposed to chance the weather on Mobile Bay based on well established predictions which had been posted for DAYS ahead of time. While the severe storm which produced this disaster was not specifically predicted, the potential was there, and I knew it based on available data., and my boat is much more capable of handling the storm than the small sailboat which were inundated. I have been in those very waters in the Calypso in a worse storm than hit this particular regatta in the days before all this smart phone business and online weather stuff, and the boat suffered no damages to anything other than our psyches. The smallish sailboats most adversely affected the other day either kept sails up or were just too small. What struck me is that people seemed to resist lowering sails and going below to ride out the storm. Another problem with sailboats in this sort of weather is that they often do not have the power to keep a proper safe heading (I have been there in a sailbote). Rich Gano Calypso (GB-CL42 Hull 295) Panama City, FL > > All I know is what I read in the papers!!! > > That's not quite true. I also race sailboats and have some appreciation for the > circumstances. > > This was not just any race. This was the 57th annual regatta spanning two > weekends with lots of social happenings. >