US SAILING

Safety At Sea - Hanson Rescue Award Recipient
 
The Officers, Directors and Members of
 US SAILING
are pleased to present the
ARTHUR B. HANSON RESCUE MEDAL
to

Steve Reeves and
the crew of Seabiscuit

Seabiscuit Skipper: Dorsey Owings
Gail Owings, Cliff Stagg, Terry Rapp, Mike Sipala, Jane Cox, Chris Conway  

for the rescue as follows:

On September 5th 2004, during the Annapolis Race Week, with winds of 15-20 knots and seas of 2-3 feet, the Mumm 30 Blockade Runner was running downwind. During an attempted jibe the guy loaded, causing the foredeck crew Diane Hoyns to be thrown into the water. As she surfaced she was struck by the boat and left well behind. Although not seriously injured, she was having difficulty staying afloat and her boat was unable to drop the spinnaker and return. Crewman Steve Reeves entered the water with the horseshoe buoy and swam to Diane to provide support. Skipper Owings of the Mumm 30 Seabiscuit did not see Diane but saw Steve and stopped to help. The crew of Seabiscuit quickly realized there were two people in the water as they approached. Both the exhausted MOB and the rescue swimmer were successfully picked up by Seabiscuit and safely returned to shore.

The unselfish action of Steve Reeves and the quick actions, effective lookout, and solid training of the crew of Seabiscuit resulted in the successful rescue of Diane Hoyns and reflect great credit upon themselves, while upholding the best traditions of seamanship.

US SAILING is proud to present the Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal in recognition of their accomplishment.

Bill Munster
 Safety at Sea Chairman
by direction

The Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal was presented to
the crew of Seabisquit on February 4, 2006  at the CBYRA dinner
by US SAILING Vice President Jim Capron

DETAILS:
 

Date of Incident: 9-5-04
Event Name: Annapolis Race Week
Sponsoring Yacht Club: AYC
Event City: Annapolis
Event State: MD

After talking to all the parties involved I have concluded that Seabiscuit  would not have seen the MOB if Reeves had not entered the water. The MOB felt she was in trouble and stated that the boat was so far away that she would not have been able to make it back or stay afloat too much longer. At the awards ceremony following the race Seabiscuit  skipper Owings was recognized and awarded a watch. Reeves was not mentioned.

While recognizing that Seabiscuit  performed a life saving rescue I believe that had Reeves not entered the water the MOB Hoyns would have been lost.


US Sailing Association
The National Governing Body for the Sport of Sailing