Sailors participating in the Severn Sailing Association Laser Frostbiting Series started the day with winds in the 0-5 range and ended it in... USCG rescue boats.
Conditions changed shortly after 2 p.m., when a passing cold front abruptly brought gusts in the 30-knot range. Over 15 Lasers capsized off Horn Point, and many were unable to right themselves - which is saying something, knowing these sailors. Sailors were between the ages of 16 and 70, and every one of them was wearing a wet or dry suit.
SSA Race Committee immediately hailed for assistance, and the USCG, Maryland NRP, and Anne Arundel County Police Department all showed up to lend a hand. At one point, a helicopter was seen covering the area.
Half of the fleet was able to make it back to shore in their own boats, but the rest were picked up by rescue boats and brought in. The majority of the boats were either towed in or secured in place. Unfortunately, three were "unsecured and likely making their way over to the Eastern Shore."
Kim Couranz, commodore of SSA, told the Capital Gazette that the Race Committee had been monitoring conditions and was aware of the cold front's approach, but that they were taken back by just how quickly conditions changed. "They weren't seeing any indication that it would jump so high so quickly," she said. Racers had breeze in the 0-5 knot range for the first race and 10-12 for the second. The squall hit the fleet just as the second race was wrapping up.
"The SSA family is relieved that, thanks to quick reaction from the SSA Race Committee and outstanding response from a number of marine first responder agencies and good samaritans, all of the Laser frostbite sailors affected by yesterday's wind made it back to shore safely and without injury," Couranz tells us. "There were 22 sailors on the water when the wind jumped from drifting conditions to 40+ knots in a matter of just a few minutes; 11 sailed themselves back to shore, while the other 11 required assistance. We can't say enough about the professionalism and outstanding skills of our first response community. An SSA team is working today to retrieve a few Lasers that were abandoned--the result of the sailors, first responders, and SSA rightly emphasizing the safety of people rather than boats yesterday."
The weekend was a hodge podge weather-wise, with an ice storm hitting the Mid Atlantic on Saturday morning and temperatures in the mid- to high-50s on Sunday.
We are very happy to report that no one needed medical attention.
