The US Coast Guard was searching Wednesday for the missing captain of a replica of the tall ship HMS Bounty sank in high seas spawned by superstorm Sandy, leaving another crew member dead.
Robin Walbridge, 63, went missing early Monday, but Coast Guard officials were holding out hope that he still could be found alive.
“As of now, our intent is to continue searching for the missing person,” said Captain Doug Cameron, the chief of incident response for the Coast Guard 5th District. “This is still an active search, not a recovery effort.
“Factors such as fitness of the member, weather conditions, survival equipment and the results from previous searches are taken into consideration to determine how long the Coast Guard will search.”
“The Coast Guard is searching an area approximately 1,500 square nautical miles,” he added.
“The water temperature is 77 degrees (25 Celsius), air temperature is 64 degrees (18 Celsius), seas are 12 feet (3.6 meters), and the winds are 30 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour).”
Fourteen crew members were plucked from the water Monday in a dramatic helicopter rescue operation.
The one who was pulled from the water but later died was related to the sailor who led the original mutiny on the real HMS Bounty in the 18th century, a Canadian news report said.
All 16 who had been on the Bounty wore bright orange cold water survival suits and life jackets.
The modern-day replica of the ship was about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina Sunday night when it radioed in a distress call.
A crew member who was first found “unresponsive,” then declared dead, was identified as Claudene Christian, 42.
She was a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate who seized control of the original Bounty in Tahiti during Captain William Bligh’s voyage in 1789.
US Coast Guard keeps searching for tall ship captain
