2 Dead After Storm Strikes Alabama Sailing Regatta - New York Times

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A Coast Guard boat, top right, patrolled Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala., on Sunday. Coast Guard crews were searching for people missing in the water after a powerful storm capsized several sailboats during a regatta. Credit G.M. Andrews/Associated Press

At least two people were killed after a swift and powerful storm crossed Mobile Bay during a Saturday afternoon sailing regatta, and the Coast Guard said on Sunday that five other people were missing.

Capt. Duke Walker, the commander of the Coast Guard’s Mobile, Ala., sector, said at a news conference in Alabama that the authorities recovered one body on Saturday and a second on Sunday morning. Although the regatta, the Dauphin Island Race, had filled the bay with dozens of sailboats, Captain Walker said the authorities were also searching for people who were not connected with the event.

“There was more than just the regatta claiming some victims,” said Captain Walker, who added that at least one person who was missing had not been a participant. He said that up to 10 boats, most of which were not racing, had capsized or been incapacitated during the sudden storm, which brought near-hurricane force wind gusts.

Emergency officials said the search-and-rescue operation, which included boats and helicopters, was continuing, and a Coast Guard spokesman, Carlos Vega, said there were no plans to suspend it.

The regatta is a rite of spring along the Gulf Coast; this year’s race was the 57^th. The course, which began south of downtown Mobile and ended at Dauphin Island, stretched about 18 nautical miles.

But severe weather stalked the regatta, which the Mobile Sports Authority promoted as “one of the largest one-day, point-to-point” races in the United States, on Saturday. Heavy rain and wind lashed the region, and Jack Cullen, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Mobile, said officials had issued severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. At 3:18 p.m., about an hour before the Coast Guard received reports of capsized vessels, the authorities recorded a wind gust of 73 miles per hour at the Mobile Bay lighthouse, Mr. Cullen said.

The storm, which brought down trees and power lines on land, posed grave challenges for the competing sailors.

“Apparently there were a number of vessels that became distressed, either capsized or what have you,” Mayor Jeff Collier of Dauphin Island said, according to the Alabama Media Group. “They were scattered everywhere from Dauphin Island Bridge all the way into Mobile Bay and across to Fort Morgan. It was a wide area.”

The Fairhope Yacht Club, which organized the race, did not immediately respond to a message on Sunday.

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