Nominators Name: Kelly Giles
Event Name: I-LYA PUT-IN-BAY Bay week regatta 2000
Sponsoring Yacht Club: I-LYA
Date of Event: July 31- Aug 2, 2000
Event City: Put In Bay
Event State: OH
Date of Incident: Aug 2, 2000
Body of Water: Lake Erie
First Victims Name: Mike Birch
First Boat Name: Jazzy
First Boat Length: 22
First Boat Make Model: Lindenburg 22
Second Victims Name: Kurt Louys
Second Boat Name: Jazzy
Second Boat Length: 22
Second Boat Make Model: Lindenburg 22
Third Victims Name: Kurk Roth, Dave, & John
Third Boat Name: Blue Moon
Third Boat Length: 26
Third Boat Make Model:Crescent
Fourth Victims Name: Keith Attee
Fourth Boat Name: Jazzy
Fourth Boat Length: 22
Fourth Boat Make Model: Lindenburg 22
Rescuing Skipper: Scott Giles
Rescuing Boat Make Model: Columbia 26 MKII
Rescuing Boat Name: Alcoholics Alluvus
What was the nature of this incident: Micro cell hit with 70kts winds, and sunk 4 boats on the last race of the regatta.
Did a Mayday call go out: yes
Who responded: Marblehead coastguard
Was any injury sustained by the victim: No
Was a PFD worn: Some
What type: sospenders
Was this day or night: day
Wind speed: 70kts
Wave height: 5-6 ft
Water temperature: 70
Air temperature: 75
How much time did the victim spend in the water: 20 min
What recovery method was used: Drop sails and start motor
Did the victims boat lose site of the victim: They sank
Was a rescue swimmer put in the water: No
Did the victim have a strobe light or whistle: yes
What color clothes were visible above the water: Yellow jacket
Was the victim able to help in the recovery: yes
Was a Lifesling aboard: yes
Was it used: no
Rescuing Crews Names: Terri Mangile, Dave Nantais, Dave McPherson
What happened: On the last race on day 3 of the ILYA Bayweek regatta, a microcell with rain and winds recorded at 70kts, blew through the last 5 boats of the fleet, sinking 4 of them, sending crews into the lake, 3 with no life jackets. My brother Scott and his crew got knocked down severely, but due to the fact they had their hatch boards in they didn't sink. During the storm as they were trying to get their sails down they noticed one of the boats in there fleet capsized with all 3 crew in the water. They managed to get lines off the back of their boat to the guys in the water, and dragged for about 15 mins before they could get their sails down and haul them aboard. After hauling 2 of the 3 crew of jazzy aboard, the storm subsided and they saw people from 3 more boats that sank, floating in the water, 3 with no life jackets. They were in 2nd place in their class at that time but decided to drop out of the race to rescue their fellow sailors a few who happened to be close friends. They went after the guys with no life jackets first and one of the other crescent boats that didn’t sink picked up some of the other people in the water. No one was hurt thank god and after about a half-hour a coastguard cutter arrived on the scene to help tow two of the remaining boats back to port. At the awards banquet they gave my brother and his crew a 1st place flag for their efforts, even though they missed a place flag for dropping out of the regatta.

How did the victim get hoisted onto the deck: swim ladder

From the nominator:

I talked to my brother and this is the info as accurate as he remembered it

Boat #1 was a Lindenburg 22 called JAZZY, and the victims were Keith Attee, Mike Birch, Kurt Louys.

Boat #2 was a Crescent called BLUE MOON, and the victims were Paul Schriber, Krista Paxton, Bill Mackie.

Boat #3 was a Crescent called NUTS, and the victims were Kirk Roth, Kevin Rasmussen, and Bruce ????

Boat #4 was a Crescent called MANON, and the victims were, Steven Hume, Jessica Smith, and Kate Leech.

Scott says the Lindenburg 22 was from Cleveland, and all the Crescents were from Detroit, and belong to DRYA as does my brother. He also informs me that 2 of the Crescents were raised that same day, and the Lindenburg 22 was towed in the following day, and the last Crescent wasn't found until just 3 weeks ago, and was salvaged and is has since been towed back to Detroit, with minimal damage and will be back in the water for spring. I'm not much of a sailor myself, so I'm kind of glad I wasn't there, but sailboat racing to my brother is like snow is to Eskimo's, He couldn't live with out it. I'm just glad those people had someone as experienced and committed to the sport as my brother is, to rescue them, and that miraculously no one drowned or was injured. I understand that some of the people weren't wearing their life jackets.

I hope this helps. I know a lot of people have told me that, Scott and his crew deserve a lot more recognition than what they got, that’s why I'm nominating him. Anyone who is fortunate enough to sail with him or against should know how lucky they are to have someone like him on the water.

Let me know how things turn out, and if you any more info I'll do what I can. If you send me a fax # I'll send the articles.

Thanks again, Kelly Giles

From the Nominator:
Actually, he said they got 6 of the people, and he flagged down a powerboat to help him with the rest, but no one knows who the guy is. A couple of the people were loaded onto one of the two of the Crescents that didn't sink (These were later models with self-bailing cockpits, the ones that sank weren't equipped this way). The other one was ahead and missed the worst of the storm, and sailed on to win the Crescent class. He didn't know that anyone was in trouble. Apparently, no one in the regatta knew any of this was going on until my brother and the powerboat (with one of the surviving Crescents in tow) arrived back at the marina. The only people that knew anything had happened where the press, and they were waiting on the docks for the story.

Send me a fax # and I'll fax you the articles.

Thanks Again
Kelly
Sail Fast & Live Slow

A Second Nomination was Submitted -

Nominators Name: Shirley Levy
Event Name: Inter-Lake Yachting Association Regatta
Sponsoring Yacht Club: ILYA and Put-in-Bay Yacht Club
Event City: Put-In-Bay, South Bass Island
Event State: OH
Body of Water: Lake Erie
First Victims Name: Kurt Louys, skipper (Columbus, OH)
First Boat Name: Jazzy
First Boat Length: 22
First Boat Make Model: Lindenberg 22
Second Victims Name: Mike Birch, crew (Delaware, OH)
Second Boat Name: Jazzy
Third Victims Name: Keith Attee, crew (Charlevoix, Michigan)
Third Boat Name: Jazzy
Fourth Victims Name: Kevin Rasmussen, skipper; Kirk Roth and Bruce Montrose, crew, (Detroit, MI)
Fourth Boat Length: 22
Fourth Boat Make Model: Crescent
Rescuing Skipper 1: Scotty Giles (Kingsville, Ontario, Canada)
Rescuing1 Boat Name: Alcoholics Alluvus
Rescuing1 Boat Length: 25
What was the nature of this incident: Sinkings during a storm
Did a Mayday call go out: Yes
Who responded: Marblehead coast guard, Lucas County Sheriff's Dept., Put-in-Bay police
Was any injury sustained by the victim: No
Was a PFD worn: Most of the victims were wearing PFDs
Was this day or night: Day
Wind speed: Up to 70 knots
Wave height: 5-6 feet
How much time did the victim spend in the water: 10-20 minutes
What recovery method was used: probably quick stop...wind plastered sails against the mast, making it nearly impossible to lower sails fast.
Was a rescue swimmer put in the water: No
What color clothes were visible above the water: yellow
Was the victim able to help in the recovery: One crew helped, the other could not
Was the race sailed under ORC regulations: yes
If so what category: Category A in accordance with Appendix G2.3 and G3. The life jacket rule, prescription to ORC rule 5.1, page 14, applied as written
Rescuing Crews Names: Terri Mangila, Dave Naneais and Dave McPherson and helped make the rescue
What happened: At one time 14 people were in the water and the crew of Alcoholics Alluvus rescued many of them.
How did victim help himself back onboard: A.A. threw a line over the stern and two of Jazzy's crew grabbed it. The Crescent crew was too exhausted to help their own recovery
How did the victim get hoisted onto the deck: Jazzy's crew grabbed the rope and the A.A. crew pulled two people aboard. They flagged down another boat to rescue a third crew member. Three members of the Alcoholics Alluvus'crew pulled the Crescent crew out of the water and aboard A.A.