Father and his kids missing at sea

[Cadence]

I don't think it is the time to second guess. Just pray for a positive outcome. And I'm not that religious.

[powsmias]

Originally Posted by Don C L

Every sailing father's nightmare. My heart goes out to the family. The Seafarer has a fairly good rep but it is a bit on the lighter side. I love my little 29 but I know well that a lot can go south in a hurry in a smaller boat if you are smacked unexpectedly, especially if you have other circumstances complicating the situation and you lose your focus. A broach, a knockdown, full cockpit and water below, she could stay on her side for a while, taking on more water. And as far as wave height, it's not just the height but period and speed that complete the mix. Long period 6' ok, short period, breaking, 6', not ok. I can imagine scenarios with a good outcome, let's hope for good news.

Six lifejackets found..not a good number. Wonder if they ever had any on.. seems like a good move would have been to tether to the kayaks. I'm not out there yet, this year's lookin good, I run it through my head that i would just tether to the pudgy i bought. Seems a no brainer, all i can figure is the father didn't want to put the kids in panic mode and never gave the lifejacket order until it was too late and/or a rogue wave knockdown swept em too far away from the boat. little kids.. pretty sad stuff here.

[JulieMac]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

Florida Squalls can be brutal... I live in SW Florida now, just north of Fort Myers.

In May 2013, we were returning from a three year cruise and were entering Charlotte Harbor for the first time. We had lower the sails and were motoring, since it was an unfamiliar channel.

When we hit Marker #2, the radar lit up with one of the biggest squalls I had seen during our cruising... Sirius Weather showed it over 125 miles long.

It hit with 63 Knot NE winds and horizontal rain. Because we were running down wind, the boat was pitching forward, which caused about 3" of water in the cockpit, which has a walk through transom, which is normally self-draining.

We could nothing but run for about 45 minutes, then the wind lightened enough to turn around (Under 25 knots). We ended up about 10 miles off-shore, but the seas never got more than about 4 feet.

We were fortunate enough to be on a big boat and the only damage was a shredded American Flag.

The Gulf of Mexico can go from flat calm to deadly in minutes... The seas are always influenced by our shallow waters.

Wow, that's intense. We also live in PGI, Tom, and haven't seen that kind of weather since relocating here last August. Even our last tropical depression wasn't thankfully that bad.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the family didn't put on their life vests. Especially went it turned nasty. Perhaps they got surprised?

Sad tale. I'm hoping for the best, still.

[sailm8]

First body found was wearing a pfd. ID not released.

[JulieMac]

Originally Posted by sailm8

First body found was wearing a pfd. ID not released.

Crap, that's terrible news. I hope they had more than the reported 7 pfd's, since 6 were found floating.

[Miz Pea]

Body Found In Search For Missing Family In Florida Waters

A multi-agency search for the remaining members of the family of four continues.


Shared from the Sarasota, FL Patch


By Sherri Lonon (Patch Staff) - June 22, 2016 7:02 pm ET

Sarasota, FL — The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday evening that a body had been recovered from the area off Sanibel where officials have been searching for a missing Sarasota family of four. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family," said Capt. Gregory Case, commander of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, during a press conference.
Case said the person's body was recovered around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The person has not yet been positively identified. He declined to comment on whether the person was male or female.
The search for the other three members of the Kimberly family remains very much active.
"We'll absolutely go through the night," Case said.
Ace Kimberly and his three teenage children left Sarasota early Sunday morning to take their sailboat in for repairs in Fort Myers. The family hasn’t been seen since.
The U.S. Coast Guard, however, located a debris field about 37 miles west of Sanibel around 10 a.m. Wednesday. Within that debris field, the Coast Guard found a pair of shoes, a tarp, six life jackets and a basketball, among other items.
Kimberly’s brother told the Coast Guard “these items did indeed correlate to his brother’s vessel,”, said during a Wednesday morning press conference about its search for the Kimberly family.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard announced on its Twitter account that it had found two kayaks, one green and one yellow, believed to belong to the missing family. The Coast Guard stressed that its search for the family continued.
“Finding the kayak and life jackets signals that we are in a dire situation,” Case said Wednesday prior to the announcement of the body's discovery. “We are continuing to keep in very close contact with the family and keep them updated on all developments during this difficult time. Locating the debris inside of our search field indicates that we are in the right area, and we are aggressively searching for Ace, Becky, Donny and Roger.”

The Coast Guard reported Wednesday evening that "all available air and surface resources have been assigned to the search effort including both helicopter and fix-wing aircrews from Air Station Clearwater, Coast Guard Auxiliary and Customs and Border Protection. Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter Alligator, Station Fort Myers Beach, and Station Cortez are actively searching, as well."
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Charlotte and Lee county sheriff's office are also involved in the search.
The Coast Guard began its search for Kimberly and his three children, Rebecca, 17, Donny, 15, and Roger, 13, after receiving a call from his brother on Tuesday. The brother, who hasn’t been named by authorities, told watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg the Kimberly family left Sarasota around 7 a.m. Sunday in the 29-foot sailboat they live on.

The brother heard from Kimberly around 3 p.m. Sunday, Case said. At that time, Kimberly told his brother they had encountered rough seas and thunderstorms. He asked his brother to send him weather reports, Case said.
That was the last time the brother heard from Kimberly or his children, Case said.

[H34]

I wish I had received that phone call. I would have had Coast Guard on scene. Saddly, H34 knows how to deal with this. Keep your prayers active.

[avb3]

USCG images show a hand held flare that was apparently fired off, as well as the recovered kayak and numerous personal items, including the life vests. This is so sad, I've sailed that area a number of times.

https://twitter.com/USCGSoutheast/st...62886702628865

[Tx J]

Awfully sad event.
If most of what we know so far is valid, it's downright criminal. Risktaking aboard for yourself, or as racing crew, etc., is one thing. Endangering three children a whole other thing.

And before I get slammed, some of my kids were stationed aboard Sector St. Pete for a few years not long ago (see that avatar? it's more recent from CC though).
They're the ones who have to actually do the tough bits with these things.
Damn sad...a waste of innocent life.

BTW, TD/TS Danielle was active to the SW of this incident and, IMO, was a major, known/knowable factor. Danielle even had a very slight affect on us to it's NW by 300+ miles.

[powsmias]

Sorry to post this but had to get off my chest.. I just left the house to take a bike ride to nyc and halfway down the highway I thought about this. I envisioned the minute they hit the water and was in awe of the terror they must have been going through..especially family/siblings.. guessing they were impoverished with four on a boat that size, but would bet/hope that they loved every second of their lifestyle... hope no one finds this in bad taste.. tried to convey it with respect.. hit me hard.. maybe because I'm halfway thru reading the fastnet'79 book and by accident, found and watched the video on you tube yesterday so I posted it in the library section here.. and that's probably why I could see their scenario happening in my mind. Prayin for a miracle now.

[powsmias]

I have a question for this thread. is it uncommon for a large fleet of private vessals to join in or requested that private boats not join in the search?
thanx in advance

[navysurfer]

I am on a mooring ball in Sarasota, few months ago this family was taking the mast down at anchor, I took the dinghy over to help, jumped on board and gave a hand. The kids were happy and having fun,

I am A father and have sailed with and lived aboard with my daughter from 9 years old on and off.

My guess is the sails ripped in a squall, waves broke over the boat, in the panic getting the water out more waves broke over, boat sunk fast, wind carried away all stuff found so far.

It happened so fast, remember the movie white squall, happened so fast, in tears as I sit here, so sad soooo so sad.

God Bless them and the Family,

[Miz Pea]

I have been posting the media updates. I live here. I do not have a seagoing boat at this time, and it is killing me to not be able to join in the search. I have one friend with a powerboat who has joined the search. I repeat: It is beyond awful to not be able to join in the search. Not nearly as awful as it must be for their mother and the rest of the family.

[H34]

H34 wrote the book for reaching out in 2013 SAR effort and wants to know the advancements of utilization of drone to aid in the Mariners rescue. "Search and Recovery Is Our Perfection" - what group like SEA TOW could have the drones to be on site to aid the mariner?

The Mariner violated every violation and put his family In Harm's Way - absolutely sinful.

[SURV69]

I think it's important(especially on a sailboat), not to live by appointments.
With threat of bad weather I'd tend to stay put.

That said, I hope there are survivors ...

prayers...