the Story from Low Speed Chase

[fprintf]

I've chosen to use Sailing Anarchy, Seahorse, Latitude 38, and Scuttlebutt for distributing this story because they're of a kindred spirit and were the favorites amongst the crew of Low Speed Chase and those who already know the answer to the question, "Why would you sail in the ocean on a windy day with big swells?"
I've also included the Marin Independent Journal and The Tiburon Ark, as they're the hometown newspapers in an area teeming with sailors.

Bryan, thanks so much for sharing this with the entire sailing community, including your local newspapers. I'm an inshore sailor but this sure made me think of the silliness of those times when we ventured offshore without a thought of clipping in or even wearing PFDs. Thank you.

 

[anothergirl]

Bryan Chong - my Dad lived after dragging around SF Bay behind a Cal 34 with the main up and the engine on; over 2 hours holding on to the mainsheet. 40 years ago and at 82 he was there in the 'Flotilla" to honor "Low Speed Chase" and while we came back to SFYC; could not help but hear his soft words from his learned experience shared with the crew ... I grew up wearing weight belts just to point higher and beat the boys? Worked out most of my life to 'be' my Dad's foredeck; I am no hacker. Cut corners 'screamin' around, been there done that ... Put bows where no bow belongs; 114 years on the Bay between my Dad and myself. "Low Speed Chase" has changed our lives. I wore a tether for the first time on the Bay alone bringing our boat to and from the Memorial. Returned home the next morning, she was doing 9 knots and I un-tied to fix the outhaul and again to tighten the lazy jacks and each time I returned to drive and said to myself, "lessons for me to honor" ... Old salt still stuck on stupid! These are hard lessons! But know this Sunday for Opening Day on the Bay I will do "man over-board" drills before we leave the dock and I will do so with race crew as well in honor of Low Speed Chase. Thank you for taking the time to express the facts for the sailing community as well as for the 'press'. Your experience has changed the way I will sail for the rest of my life. Very gut wrenching so very sorry for your loss and all families loss ... I will never forget. Always a beginner to change that which I already knew; open to know that which I should know and do know; now differently with much honor and sorrow. Cinde Lou Delmas

 

[Pertinacious Tom]

Someone with even less class than me is going to have to welcome her.

 

[Floraseña]

Bryan,

Thank you for sharing your story with us. It has given me many things to think about and consider.

 

[One eye Jack]

Apparently the news media doesn't think this is a worthy note..But a body was found in Bolinas Bay just north of the accident...It was one of the sailors on the race...God may he rest in peace...It looks like mother nature may let some of the families have closure..Let's hope she gives all of the families their loved ones...As all needs closure on their loss...Sir may you have winds at you back forever RIP.

 

[unShirley]

I would like to take this opportunity to educate OEJ, the news media, and anybody else that banters about the word "closure" when referring to grieving survivors. STOP IT. As one who has suffered through the terrible grief of losing a loved one unfairly, there never is "closure." For a family to recover the body of a lost love one may enable them to perform rituals that allow good-byes and a wee bit of comfort. But the wound survivors suffer never completely heals. "Closure" implies that one is done with their grieving, that the whole episode has been neatly packaged up, tied off, and disposed of. Wrong! The pain never goes away. I am sure that OEJ's intentions are sympathetic and good. But, please, for me, and I suspect a lot of survivors, the word "closure" creates anger that people just don't understand the eternal pain that accompanies a tragedy such as the grounding of the LSC.

ok, I am done venting. Rather than use the word "closure," perhaps a phrase such as, "It looks like mother nature may let some of the families retrieve their loved ones to answer one of many questions and help lessen their pain a little bit" is more appropriate.

 

[ProaSailor]

Apparently the news media doesn't think this is a worthy note..But a body was found in Bolinas Bay just north of the accident...It was one of the sailors on the race...

Where did you get that information?

Body found near Bodega Head ID'd as SR man

The body that was recovered Wednesday in the surf below Bodega Head has been identified as Brian Christopher Abel, 57, of Santa Rosa.

Not one of the sailors. But this was Bodega, not Bolinas.

 

[Dixie]

Bryan Chong - my Dad lived after dragging around SF Bay behind a Cal 34 with the main up and the engine on; over 2 hours holding on to the mainsheet. 40 years ago and at 82 he was there in the 'Flotilla" to honor "Low Speed Chase" and while we came back to SFYC; could not help but hear his soft words from his learned experience shared with the crew ... I grew up wearing weight belts just to point higher and beat the boys? Worked out most of my life to 'be' my Dad's foredeck; I am no hacker. Cut corners 'screamin' around, been there done that ... Put bows where no bow belongs; 114 years on the Bay between my Dad and myself. "Low Speed Chase" has changed our lives. I wore a tether for the first time on the Bay alone bringing our boat to and from the Memorial. Returned home the next morning, she was doing 9 knots and I un-tied to fix the outhaul and again to tighten the lazy jacks and each time I returned to drive and said to myself, "lessons for me to honor" ... Old salt still stuck on stupid! These are hard lessons! But know this Sunday for Opening Day on the Bay I will do "man over-board" drills before we leave the dock and I will do so with race crew as well in honor of Low Speed Chase. Thank you for taking the time to express the facts for the sailing community as well as for the 'press'. Your experience has changed the way I will sail for the rest of my life. Very gut wrenching so very sorry for your loss and all families loss ... I will never forget. Always a beginner to change that which I already knew; open to know that which I should know and do know; now differently with much honor and sorrow. Cinde Lou Delmas

Cinde, very sweet sentiment and very good to see you out there and appreciate the guests you took aboard too. I know you wouldn't have missed it and am glad to hear your story. Hugs, Dixie.

 

[One eye Jack]

1335630328[/url]' post='3690890']I would like to take this opportunity to educate OEJ, the news media, and anybody else that banters about the word "closure" when referring to grieving survivors. STOP IT. As one who has suffered through the terrible grief of losing a loved one unfairly, there never is "closure." For a family to recover the body of a lost love one may enable them to perform rituals that allow good-byes and a wee bit of comfort. But the wound survivors suffer never completely heals. "Closure" implies that one is done with their grieving, that the whole episode has been neatly packaged up, tied off, and disposed of. Wrong! The pain never goes away. I am sure that OEJ's intentions are sympathetic and good. But, please, for me, and I suspect a lot of survivors, the word "closure" creates anger that people just don't understand the eternal pain that accompanies a tragedy such as the grounding of the LSC.

)

ok, I am done venting. Rather than use the word "closure," perhaps a phrase such as, "It looks like mother nature may let some of the families retrieve their loved ones to answer one of many questions and help lessen their pain a little bit" is more appropriate.

When you are found..the family can legally have the books closed..insurance paid etc.I had a very close friend that was swept off the cliffs in Santa Cruz..and was NEVER found..So you are not legally gone..And have to go to court after ( it used to be 7 years) and prove to the court that your loved one is not just missing, ran off, or what ever can fit the imagination on why your loved one isn't there...besides being in the passing...Insurance companies will not pay off as you are not legally gone.. Everything stays in the open mode..It is one of the worst things that will happen to any grieving family...Ohhh and My friend was Reverend father Calivan...the year about 1962 about the end of November...He went fishing on the cliffs and they think he was hit and washed off by a wave...No one really never has closure...but it is closure to be able to know 100%...and have the books closed...sorry ...

 

[One eye Jack]

1335634798[/url]' post='3690935']

1335626355[/url]' post='3690828']Apparently the news media doesn't think this is a worthy note..But a body was found in Bolinas Bay just north of the accident...It was one of the sailors on the race...

Where did you get that information?

Body found near Bodega Head ID'd as SR man

The body that was recovered Wednesday in the surf below Bodega Head has been identified as Brian Christopher Abel, 57, of Santa Rosa.

Not one of the sailors. But this was Bodega, not Bolinas.

The only place I say the news was on channel 2 Friday at 10:00 ..and yes it was bodega..Thursday they came and said they had found somebody...and last night they said it had been identified as on of the crewmen that was lost.

 

[bcopper]

Apparently the news media doesn't think this is a worthy note..But a body was found in Bolinas Bay just north of the accident...It was one of the sailors on the race...

Where did you get that information?

Body found near Bodega Head ID'd as SR man

The body that was recovered Wednesday in the surf below Bodega Head has been identified as Brian Christopher Abel, 57, of Santa Rosa.

Not one of the sailors. But this was Bodega, not Bolinas.

The only place I say the news was on channel 2 Friday at 10:00 ..and yes it was bodega..Thursday they came and said they had found somebody...and last night they said it had been identified as on of the crewmen that was lost.

That's a pretty blatant error and they should be notified and a correction/apology issued in respect for the crew.

 

[NoStrings]

Apparently the news media doesn't think this is a worthy note..But a body was found in Bolinas Bay just north of the accident...It was one of the sailors on the race...

Where did you get that information?

Body found near Bodega Head ID'd as SR man

The body that was recovered Wednesday in the surf below Bodega Head has been identified as Brian Christopher Abel, 57, of Santa Rosa.

Not one of the sailors. But this was Bodega, not Bolinas.

The only place I say the news was on channel 2 Friday at 10:00 ..and yes it was bodega..Thursday they came and said they had found somebody...and last night they said it had been identified as on of the crewmen that was lost.

That's a pretty blatant error and they should be notified and a correction/apology issued in respect for the crew.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/sf-coroners-office-recovers-body-missing-sailor/nMkYX/

 

[ProaSailor]

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/sf-coroners-office-recovers-body-missing-sailor/nMkYX/

SF coroner’s office recovers body of missing sailor

The San Francisco coroner has identified the body of a man found in the water as 25-year-old Jordan Fromm from Kentfield, one of the victim's of a deadly boat crash.His body was discovered Thursday near the Farallon Islands.

Fromm was one of five sailors killed April 14 when their boat was overtaken by waves.

 

[Oxygen Mask]

Guys, at least get your stories straightened out before you argue.

Two different locations, two different people.

Okay?

 

[One eye Jack]

1335643589[/url]' post='3691017']Guys, at least get your stories straightened out before you argue.

Two different locations, two different people.

Okay?

Just saying what the news reports..you know how they can get things screwed up...

 

[masameet]

Am heartened to learn that young Fromm's body was recovered. The identification must have been unspeakably difficult for his parents, but at least now they can bury him and visit his grave.

Let us hope that the three other young sailors' bodies are recovered as well.

 

[bcopper]

http://www.ktvu.com/...g-sailor/nMkYX/

Thanks for the clarification - I stand corrected.

I heard the Bodega Bay report Thursday night on the radio, and heard the ID was not one of the sailors the following night about the same time.

This is new news to me.

 

[ProaSailor]

Guys, at least get your stories straightened out before you argue.

Two different locations, two different people.

Okay?

Brilliant deduction. No need to pop a fuse, brah, it's called social media for a reason. It took the collaborative efforts of four people to reveal those two facts on this forum:

• SW Sailor first reported the body found at Bodega Bay.
  
• which led me to read the Press Democrat articles about it every day, including this morning when it was first reported that it was a hiker from Santa Rosa.
  
• One eye Jack heard the late TV news last night about Jordan Fromm but we didn't have a citation until...
  
• NoStrings provided the link to the ktvu.com article, confirming what One eye Jack heard last night.
  

P.S. And it's very uncommon, eh, to have two autopsy reports for unrelated incidents released at the same time for two people pulled from the same waters at nearly the same time?

 

[ProaSailor]

Missing Farallones race sailor's body is found (Jordan Fromm)

 

[Dixie]

There will be a flag ceremony at the SFYC this am for the crew of the rescue operations. PM me for details as the club is limiting attendance due to anticipated opening day crowds. However, for those interested and affected happy to add you in. Just PM me.