This piece comes from a gentleman named Chuck Hawley, who is a vice president of West Marine, member of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee, moderator of the US Sailing/Cruising World Safety at Sea seminars, and former member of the Pacific Cup YC Board (2000 race). His comments on the Z5 man overboard cover-up would be funny if they weren't true. The crew can't talk about the alleged fact that the owner of Z5 fell overboard while taking a piss because why? Because the owner doesn't want anyone to know that he fell overboard? Or maybe they botched the recovery? We heard it took 30 mintes to get him back on board. Is this a sailboat race or a National Security issue? - ED

I was lucky enough to be at Kaneohe Yacht Club for the finish of the West Marine Pacific Cup over the last week, and I observed a contrast on forthrightness that I thought I would share with you.

As you know, I nominated Skip Allan for the Hanson medal after his rescue of a drowning Moore 24 sailor this spring. Skip retold the story to me in detail while basking in the glory of his First Place finish in the West Marine Pacific Cup. When I hear him tell the story, I get goose bumps based on how close he came to losing the victim, and how his innate "situational awareness" allowed him to judge that there may have been trouble on the water more than a mile from where he first viewed the Moore 24 fleet.

At the medal presentation (in front of 650 West Marine Pacific Cup participants) I retold the story (as is our tradition) and everyone in the audience got a quick Safety at Sea seminar on how to rescue a fellow sailor. Skip appeared to be as proud to get the Hanson medal as he did to get the trophies for First in Division and First Overall (the Pacific Cup).

On the other hand, we heard various stories about the crew overboard incident aboard Zephyrus V, the new 86' maxi that is owned by Robert McNeil. Early in the race, someone fell overboard, requiring both Zephyrus and Mari Cha III to request redress when they used their engines to return to the victim. Apparently Mari Cha III's bowman, who is on the Australian AC team, lost part of his finder while the 147' vessel struck her sails and returned to look for the overboard victim.

OK, here is the disturbing part in my opinion: everyone on Zephyrus V has been sworn to secrecy on the details of the crew overboard event, including who the victim was. I asked two Z5 crewmembers about the event, and both said they could not discuss it, as if they were prevented by a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

There are many who believe that McNeil, the owner, was the victim, and one rumor is that two crewmembers jumped in after the victim to insure he was OK. There is general agreement that the victim did not have any safety gear on. Were it not for the quick deployment of the MOM, the victim would have been extremely hard to find.

I am, as you may be able to detect, upset by the lack of information available on this event. Compared with Skip's open discussion and celebration of his rescue, the "cone of silence" placed on the Z5 event keeps the entire sailing world from learning from their experience. It is, in my opinion, unconscionably selfish and self-centered.

The truth will leak out at some point, but in the meantime, rumors assume the worst (reminds me of the Watergate tapes where I automatically put the worst words in the "expletive deleted" sections of the recordings...).

Respectfully submitted,

Chuck Hawley