PORTLAND(AP) — A three-masted sailing vessel with a troubled history, including twice becoming disabled in rough weather, sank Wednesday in stormy seas off Nantucket after the Coast Guard once again came to its aid to rescue its two occupants, officials said.
RawFaith, which was built in Maine in the style of a 16th-century galleon and designed to accommodate people with disabilities, went down 100 miles southeast of Nantucket at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, less than 24 hours after a Coast Guard helicopter rescue, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Connie Terrell.
The Coast Guard realized there was a problem Monday when an emergency radio beacon deployed as the 118-foot RawFaith was battered by 25-knot winds and seas that eventually reached 10 to 15 feet.
It was unclear if the weather exceeded the home-built vessel’s limitations. “With this being a nonstandard vessel, it’s hard to say what its weather limitations were,” Terrell said.
RawFaith was built over four years by George McKay, whose oldest child used a wheelchair because of Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition.
McKay, who couldn’t be reached Wednesday, designed the vessel to accommodate wheelchairs with the idea of giving children with disabilities an opportunity to learn how to sail. He built it in Addison, Maine, with help from three sons and volunteers, but it ran into trouble after setting sail.
The Coast Guard ordered improvements after it became disabled in a gale on Thanksgiving Day 2004, forcing it to be towed to Rockland, Maine, for lengthy repairs. Two years later, it lost all three masts in another storm off Maine’s Mount Desert Rock. Once again, it was towed to Rockland.
In Maine, the Coast Guard had concerns about the seaworthiness of the vessel, including construction that didn’t meet federal standards for passenger vessels. The Coast Guard also pressed the operator to get safety equipment including the emergency radio beacon that was used on Monday.
“His vision was take this out to give sailing experiences to handicapped or underprivileged children. That was his dream with the vessel. However, the vessel would never have been certificated,” said Cmdr. Derek Dostie, the Coast Guard’s top marine safety official in Maine.
The Coast Guard didn’t identify the men aboard the stricken vessel, but a Coast Guard photo showed McKay in a survival suit after being rescued.
Terrell said the episode underscored the importance of being prepared. She said the Coast Guard dropped off a survival suit because there was only one aboard.
Both occupants had to jump into the water to be saved by a rescue swimmer because the three masts posed a danger to the Jayhawk helicopter’s rotor, she said.
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- In this Friday Jan. 16, 2009 file photo arctic sea smoke drifts by Raw Faith, a 88-foot galleon, on a minus -12 degree F morning in Rockland, Maine. The sailing vessel was abandoned by its crew of two when a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter picked them up 100-miles off of Nantucket Wednesday morning Dec. 8, 2010. The ship sank shortly after. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
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