Imperfect Captain Blames Sinking of Sailboat on Weather, Not Crew of 'Perfect Day'

To the Editor:

I am writing this in response to the story you ran titled "Imperfect Crew Saved from Perfect Day."  I am the skipper you referred to in the article as the "fair weather sailboat captain" who ran out of fuel.    I would think it wise to get the facts before publishing stories that are simply not true. 

The truth is we never ran out of fuel, the boat's mast was damaged in the first of two severe storms and fearing that we would not be able to repair it and resume sailing we had to plan on motoring the 350 miles back to Norfolk.  Since we were a sailboat and had planned on sailing most of the 725 miles from Bermuda to Annapolis we only had enough fuel remaining to travel approximately 230 miles.  The Coast Guard requested that the tanker "Gulf Grace," in route to New York, assist us by providing additional fuel which they did.  The other provisions they provided were water, ice cream and cigarettes which we did not request but the Gulf Grace's skipper insisted we take.  My boat was fully provisioned with enough water, food and supplies to make the return trip to Annapolis prior to departing Bermuda and ever rendezvousing with the Gulf Grace.

The storm that did us in hit us on the eastern side of the Gulf Stream with winds out of the NW at 40-45 knots.  If you have sailed across the Stream in any weather you know what winds like that do to the swift northerly flowing current.  For us it meant steep and confused 20-25 foot seas, some even bigger.  We had managed to repair the mast but in the second storm the repair did not last.  The alternator died on my newly installed Volvo diesel engine so we were without battery power and the ability to start the engine.  My small, light displacement, performance sailboat was struggling in the big seas and high winds and was starting to take on water through numerous leaks that were developing as we crashed down the backs of the huge waves.  With nightfall setting in, the storm intensifying, taking on water, unable to sail and not able to restart the engine if it died, we decided that the prudent thing to do would be to abandon the vessel.

My crew was not "imperfect" as you stated.  We were all experienced sailors, racers, and boat owners and one is a licensed captain.  The average age of the crew was 46.  We all had attended the Safety at Sea seminars.  We met in the months before the race to discuss boat preparations and planning.  I had a retired Coast Guard officer with years of search and rescue experience aboard. I have won my share of races here in Maryland and crewed on a winning boat racing offshore in Florida.  Had you discussed the events leading up to the rescue with me before conjuring up your story you may have given us a fairer shake.

Bob Seay
(Editor's Note: The last we knew of this captain, he and his crew were being flown to shore by the Coast Guard.  Apparently Capt. Seay didn't like having any wisecracks made about his ertswhile sailing abilities. Having a retired Coast Guard officer on board is really tempting fate.  Thanks to the captain for setting the record straight and bringing even more attention to the fact that one should have a good lifeboat when going out on his ship of fools. Give him credit, he and his pals made it home alive, due to great cost to the taxpayers. It would have been cheaper for the captain to have gone down with his ship.  Here was our headline.

Imperfect Crew Saved from Perfect Day
Fair weather sailboat captain didn't bring enough gas for trip from Bermuda to Annapolis...or something

Here is the official Coast Guard press release upon which information was relied for our news brief:
USCG SAVES THREE OFF CAROLINA COAST
PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Three people were rescued from 15- to 20-foot seas approximately 100 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., by a Coast Guard helicopter rescue crew this evening at about 9:20 p.m. Robert Seay, 43, of Annapolis, Md., called the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command Center in Portsmouth via satellite phone at about 7:15 p.m. requesting that he and his two-person crew be evacuated from their 30-foot sailing vessel, the Perfect Day, after it started taking on water.A Helicopter rescue crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., lowered a rescue swimmer into the treacherous seas and hoisted the three men to safety. A Coast Guard C-130 was also on scene.  Personnel at the Atlantic Area Command Center had been contacted by Seay two days earlier when he activated his 406 EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) after his vessel ran out of gas 270 miles east of the Carolina Coast. Coast Guard rescue coordinators directed a C-130 airplane and an AMVER vessel (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System) to respond. After the C-130 located the Perfect Day, the AMVER vessel gave Seay and his crew fuel, water and provisions enabling them to continue on their voyage. Seay and his two crewmen, Brad Howard, 41, and Bruce Serinis, 53, were taken to Air Station Elizabeth City and are in good condition.The crew of the Perfect Day was heading back to Annapolis from the Bermuda.