Coast Guard, Sailboat | featured news

The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a sailboat that may have disappeared off the Monterey Coast two days ago. A Coast Guard official is now calling the distress call that prompted the search a possible hoax.

A powerful wave swept four crew members off a sailboat during a race near San Francisco, leaving one person dead and four others missing, the Coast Guard said early Sunday. The eight-member crew aboard the 38-foot Low Speed Chase was participating in a yacht race from San Francisco Bay around the Farallon Islands on Saturday afternoon as their craft ran aground. Seas were running high at 10-12 feet when the Low Speed Chase was hit by a larger wave and the four were washed overboard, Coast Guard Petty Officer Levi Read said.