Search for missing yacht crew suspended

The US Coastguard has suspended its search for the missing crew members of a yacht which hit rocks in San Francisco Bay yesterday.

Two Irish sailors are feared drowned after being thrown overboard during a yacht race off California.

Three of the crew on the 38ft Low Speed Chase were rescued after large waves hit the fleet as they rounded South Farallon Island, off San Francisco, on Saturday.

The body of one sailor was recovered but two others were missing.

The search for remaining survivors has since been called off.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said consular staff in San Francisco were liaising with the US Coast Guard.

Other officials were liaising with the families of the two men, understood to be from Cork.

The US Coast Guard said the accident happened when 12ft waves hit boats as they rounded the sparsely populated islands, about 30 miles west of San Francisco.

One large wave is believed to have swept some of the Low Speed Chase’s crew overboard and the boat was thrown on to rocks after it turned to try to rescue them.

The missing Irish sailors have been named as Alan Cahill, who has been living in Tiburon in California for many years and his friend Elmer Morrissey who had travelled to the US on a visit.

It is believed to have been Mr Morrissey’s second day in the US.

The Coast Guard made the decision to stand down the search after covering more than 5,000 square miles of ocean over more than 30 hours.

Mr Cahill is understood to be a married father-of-two and an experienced yacht race sailor, originally from Blarney.

Ed Lynch, director of the San Francisco Yacht Club where the boat sailed from, said the fleet had been hit by a series of very large waves.

“This was an experienced crew who raced together often,” he said. “The sailing community is tight-knit, and this is being felt around the world. This is just a terrible tragedy for everyone.”

Low Speed Chase was one of 49 yachts competing in the Full Crew Farallones, a 107-year-old, 54-mile race off northern California.

The Yacht Racing Association of San Francisco Bay, which supports offshore racing in the region, said the alarm was raised by other boats in the area.

An emergency locator beacon on board the Low Speed Chase had been activated during the incident and mayday signals sent.

The association, the Ocean Yacht Racing Association, and the Board of Directors expressed deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the lost crewmen.

“We offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the missing crew in hopes they are returned home safely,” the organisation said.

The boat’s owner and skipper, James Bradford, was among the three survivors winched off the islands by the Coast Guard about 300ft from the wrecked yacht.

It is understood the boat was first broadsided by a large wave, knocking crew into the sea, before it was hit side-on a second time as it turned to attempt a rescue.