NEWPORT, Rhode Island -- A crew member fought in vain to rescue a colleague who had been swept overboard as a yachting race in America ended in tragedy.
Jamie Boeckel, 34, was thrown from the bow of the 20-metre (66-foot) ocean racing sloop Blue Yankee when the spinnaker pole broke while the 16-man crew was making a routine sail change.
Crew member Brock Callen dived into the water after Boeckel, who was seen floating face down. At the same time, a second crew member released the boat's man overboard apparatus -- consisting of a flotation ring, buoy and strobe light.
Callen swam to Boeckel, from Newport, Rhode Island, and tried to support him in the 50-degree waters, but Boeckel slipped from his grasp.
The accident happened on Friday night during the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race in Long Island Sound when northwesterly winds were gusting at more than 25 knots.
Navigator Peter Isler said Blue Yankee's owner and skipper Bob Towse had gone over the details of man-overboard procedures prior to the race with all of his crew.
"Bob's a very careful, conservative guy, and the safety briefing is always part of his routine before every ocean race," Isler said.
Blue Yankee returned to Stamford, Connecticut, just before dawn on Saturday morning after searching for Boeckel all night.
The Storm Trysail Club is set to dedicate the prize-giving ceremony for the Block Island Race to Boeckel.
John Osmond, Commodore of the Storm Trysail Club, said the club's officers had initially planned to cancel the ceremony but decided to go ahead after consulting with Towse.
In a statement on the club's official Web site, Osmond said: "Jamie Boeckel left an indelible mark on a wide circle of friends and associates. In a short life he was a successful and admired competitor at the top levels of the sport of ocean racing and the America's Cup.
"The club's officers share Bob Towse's belief that it is better to celebrate Jamie's life and his contributions to sailing by honouring him at the prizegiving, than to cancel it and let the moment go unmarked. We are all sure that Jamie would have wanted it this way."
