The Capital
By Tina Reed
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — One man died and another is presumed dead after their sailboat capsized yesterday in the Chesapeake Bay just north of the Bay Bridge.
A 911 cellphone call for help from a woman floating in the bay’s frigid waters sparked a massive search-and-rescue mission that recovered a 25-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man in serious condition, but failed to find a 25-year-old man believed to be with them.
Shortly before 3 p.m., county emergency crews received calls for help by radio and then by cellphone.
“Then the call dropped,” said Sgt. Art Windemuth, a spokesman for Natural Resources Police.
Crews scrambled to an area of open water just north of the Bay Bridge to figure out exactly where the 1985 18-foot Precision sailboat had gone down. Rescue boats scoured the water while state police and county helicopters scanned from the air.
Around 3:45 p.m., rescuers finally located the woman, but struggled to get information from her about how many other people were in the water. The woman was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center and was being treated for hypothermia and was listed in serious condition.
The water temperature was about 47 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
“The wind was blowing about 10 to 15 miles per hour and it was pretty chilly out,” said county fire spokesman Capt. James Rostek.
Crews later found another man in the water. The 40-year-old was rushed to Anne Arundel Medical Center in life-threatening condition due to being submerged in the cold water.
He was unresponsive and emergency crews had to perform CPR on him, Rostek said.
He later died, an official at the hospital confirmed.
It is believed all three people were wearing life vests, Windemuth said. He did not know where the three people were from.
Rostek said the search for the missing 25-year-old man has turned into a recovery mission after sonar technology was unable to find him. The investigation will be conducted by the Department of Natural Resources, he said.
It has been the deadliest year statewide for boating accidents in more than a decade. According to Windemuth, there have been more than 20 deaths.
The two fatalities yesterday raised the number of people who’ve died in local waters this year to seven.
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