Texas A&M Releases Report On Boat Tragedy

((HT: Bryan-College Station Eagle/Patel))

The Cynthia Woods ((pictured, thanks sail-world.com file)) capsized 13 months ago because of inadequate design and construction, according to the Texas A&M System's final report on the incident.

The findings contradict the results of a separate U.S. Coast Guard investigation released in December that cited faulty repairs as the cause. The system's report effectively shifts blame from Texas A&M to the boat's builder, Cape Fear Yacht Works.

The Galveston branch campus's sailboat lost its 4,800-pound keel about 10 hours into a race to Veracruz, Mexico, and flipped in about 45 seconds as water poured into the vessel, the A&M System report found.

Safety officer Roger Stone died, and five crew members -- including Ross Busby, a student at the flagship campus -- escaped, then spent 26 hours in the choppy waters before the U.S. Coast Guard rescued them.

The Coast Guard report released in December said the boat, which belonged to the campus's offshore sailing team, was the victim of repeated damage from groundings and inadequate repairs.

"The point of failure was nowhere near those repairs," said Jerry Brown, an assistant general counsel for the A&M System.

The A&M report, which was presented to the Texas A&M Board of Regents during a regularly scheduled meeting Friday in College Station, concludes that Cape Fear failed five American Bureau of Shipping design standards. A thin hull and narrow backing plates caused one of the plates to cut through the hull, the report found, making the keel fall off.

The Coast Guard report concluded that none of the major repairs, examinations or marine surveys was 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 Coast Guard summary stated.

A&M System officials said Friday that management of the sailboat at the Galveston campus could have been improved and that since then, several changes have been made, including creating positions for a waterfront director and safety director. But those issues, A&M officials said, did not contribute to the capsizing.

Three parties -- Cape Fear; the designer of the boat, Bruce Marek; and a company involved in repairs, Payco Marine -- are named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Randall Sorrels, a Houston lawyer representing Stone's wife and children. Depositions in that case are scheduled to begin next month. Texas A&M is not named in the lawsuit.

Cape Fear released a statement Friday that referred to what it called "Texas A&M University's failure to meet its obligations with respect to responsible boat ownership." The release to the news media stated that the company had not been contacted despite nine separate groundings, several of which damaged the keel and hull. The groundings, according to the Coast Guard report, happened between February 2006 and October 2007.

"We are disappointed to hear Texas A&M University refuses to accept any responsibility for the events related to the June 2008 capsizing of the Cynthia Woods, which Texas A&M University owned and operated, especially in light of the United States Coast Guard findings," the statement said.

Sorrels said he had his own investigator, who eventually would release a report "unless [the parties] want to settle the case."

The A&M System and the Coast Guard don't have the expertise to conduct an investigation into a capsizing, so each hired experts.

The lawyer said he believed the conflicting reports could be reconciled if both the design and repairs contributed to the capsizing. Friday's report didn't lead the Stone family any closer to a resolution, Sorrels said.

"Neither report addresses the full picture, from the design to the manufacture to the damage and to the subsequent repairs," he said. "It's our job to get the full picture in place to determine what happened."

Regent Gene Stallings suggested a meeting between those who conducted both investigations because the inquiries came to fundamentally different conclusions. General Counsel Andrew Strong agreed.

Also at the regents' meeting was Texas A&M Interim President R. Bowen Loftin. When the Cynthia Woods capsized, Loftin was chief over the Galveston campus. He worked closely with Elsa Murano, who resigned as A&M president last month, in dealing with the aftermath.

"We all want closure on these things," he said. "That's what it comes down to. We probably aren't there yet, but it's a step in the right direction."

Here's coverage from our friends at KHRD-ABC40 in Bryan-College Station,
John Cuoco attended the hearing...