A Texas A&M University System investigation into the fatal capsizing of the Cynthia Woods sailboat has been delayed as officials wait for more details gathered in a separate inquiry by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The federal agency released a nine-page summary of its findings two weeks ago that said the Texas A&M at Galveston offshore sailing team's boat that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico on June 6 was the victim of repeated damage and inadequate repairs.
A safety officer was killed in the accident. Five crew members escaped and spent 26 hours in the water before they were rescued by the Coast Guard.
The investigation found that none of the major repairs, examinations or marine surveys -- which were the responsibility of the university's small-boat manager -- were performed by "a qualified third party."
"The investigation found no evidence that the vessel's manufacturer or designer were ever contacted or consulted following the numerous groundings," the summary stated.
The A&M System filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act asking for the complete findings in an effort to make its independent investigation of the incident more comprehensive, system officials said.
"We want the details," said Chancellor Mike McKinney. "Not just their interpretations. We want the measures, the thickness, the interviews, what they found."
Lt. Tim Tilghman, a public affairs officer for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Unit in Galveston, said the information would be released but must come from headquarters, rather than from individual field units such as the one in Houston.
The report, according to its summary, was the result of interviewing 21 people over 29 hours and reviewing 2,735 pages of documents, as well as examining 1,155 photos and 27 pieces of physical evidence.
"The investigation was very thorough," Tilghman said.
The Cynthia Woods lost its 4,500-pound keel about 10 hours into a race to Veracruz, Mexico. The 38-foot boat rapidly filled with water and capsized -- within a minute, by all accounts -- sending three members of the six-man crew into the water immediately, according to the investigation summary.
Roger Stone, a Texas A&M at Galveston employee, died trapped in the cabin after pushing two students to safety, according to the report.
The Galveston campus owns the Cynthia Woods. The College Station campus owns its sister vessel, the George Phydias. Both were moored and maintained at the Galveston campus. The two boats were the "only true racing vessels" in the university's fleet, the Coast Guard stated.
According to the Coast Guard investigation, the accident was the result of repeated groundings of the vessel, including one in March 2007 when the boat struck a concrete block, partially separating its keel and causing cracks in the floor.
The repairs, which were done by students, included removing and reattaching the keel, reinforcing fiberglass and fixing cracked floors.
Stone's wife, Linda, filed a wrongful death suit in Galveston County in July against boat maker Cape Fear Yacht Works and Bruce Marek, who designed the vessel for the company. Also named as a defendant was Payco Marine, a Galveston company that at some point -- though it was unclear when -- did repair work on the boat. The A&M System was not named in the suit.
Payco Marine's work on the boat consisted of "cosmetic work, for lack of a better term," such as removing the vessel from the water and sanding the hull, Tilghman said.
Linda Stone's lawyer, Randall Sorrels, said he was not satisfied with the thoroughness or quality of the Coast Guard's investigation. He called the inquiry, which the Coast Guard conducted with Ancon Marine Consultants for its technical expertise, "not really a Coast Guard report."
"The Coast Guard should call this report what it is -- one third party's opinion of what may have happened to cause a catastrophic keel failure on the Cynthia Woods vessel," Sorrels said in a letter dated Dec. 18 to Coast Guard officials. "And that third party's opinion can only be as thorough and complete as the work put into developing that opinion."
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