RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The Coast Guard continued to search Thursday for a sailboat and its four crew members, all Rhode Islanders, who went missing Monday in rough waters off the North Carolina coast.
Rescue crews have scoured more than 38,000 square nautical miles, or nearly 50,000 square miles, for the missing boat, which was traveling from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to Annapolis, Md., the Coast Guard said.
“We’re still treating this as an act of search-and-rescue,” said Petty Officer Kip Wadlow.
Officials said the 54-foot “Flying Colours” sent out a distress signal early Monday morning about 120 miles southeast of Cape Lookout. Coast Guard crews rescued nine people from three other boats that morning as high winds whipped up seas as high as 40 feet.
The experienced crew on the missing sailboat includes Patrick Topping, 39; Jason Franks, 34; Rhiannon Borisoff, 22; and Christine Grinavic, 25, according to the Coast Guard.
The National Weather Service said Thursday that conditions have calmed, with seas of about 5 feet to 6 feet.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
