US Sailing, the national governing body of the sport, on Thursday released its report into the circumstances surrounding the death of Colin Golder of New Providence, New Jersey, who fell overboard during the Newport Bermuda Race in June.
Golder was a veteran of the 635-nautical-mile trek from Newport to Bermuda, but on the afternoon of June 19, “he was not wearing a harness with tether nor a personal flotation device that complied with the Race’s safety requirements,” according to the 18-page report.
The seven other members of the crew of the 42-foot sloop, Morgan of Marietta, immediately enacted man-overboard procedures and turned the vessel around. They connected him to the boat via a Lifesling, though had trouble retrieving Golder, who, according to the report, was 74 years old and estimated to be 5-foot-9 and between 250 and 300 pounds. He lost consciousness and died before he could be pulled back onto the boat, the report says.
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In the wake of the incident, organizers of the Newport Bermuda race, the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, requested a review and asked US Sailing to “provide a report and recommendations aimed at enhancing the safety of offshore racing.”
The six-person panel interviewed members of the crew as well as Sabina Golder, the wife of Colin Golder, who owned and skippered the boat and had competed in 10 previous Newport Bermuda Races.
The report says Golder was heavily involved in preparation for the race, but largely relied on his crew in terms of handling the boat. He rarely went inside the boat’s cockpit when racing.
Just after midnight on June 19, a large wave crashed over Morgan of Marietta. The other crewmembers who were on the night watch — Rob Douglas, Anne Popolizio and Shawn Edmonds — were all wearing personal floatation devices (PFD) and were clipped in using their tethers, as was general “standard procedure.”
Golder was not tethered, nor was he wearing a flotation device. According to multiple crew accounts, the wave washed Godler over the top of the leeward lifelines and into the water, which at the time was 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Crew members stated in the report that the process to turn the boat around and return to Golder took between four and five minutes from the time he was washed overboard. Once there, they deployed the Lifesling, though “during the process of bringing him back to the boat, Colin appeared to lose consciousness and his face went into the water.”
His skin was blue, and he was unresponsive. “He was floating face down near the boat and believed by the crew to be dead at this point,” the report says. “The crew found the Lifesling ineffective because Colin was unconscious and unable to maintain his position in the device.”
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After several attempts and strategies, the crew members eventually pulled Golder’s body onto the boat and began to set sail for the boat’s homeport of Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be “drowning,” the report says.
“Colin was washed overboard by a large wave in inclement weather,” the report says. “We believe, ultimately, his death was caused by his failure to wear and deploy his PFD, harness, and tether. His crew acted admirably in returning and reconnecting him to the boat, but it appears that he drowned before they could get him back on the boat.”
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