Dauphin Island Regatta tragedy: Weather’s lasting impact on annual event 10 years later
The boat race started out on a beautiful morning but severe thunderstorms would turn the event deadly. Future recommendations for safer races came after the tragedy.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat, top right, patrols Mobile Bay as other water craft head head south from Dauphin Island, Ala., Sunday, April 26, 2015. Coast Guard crews searched for five people missing in the water after a powerful storm capsized several sailboats participating in a regatta near Mobile Bay. (AP Photo/G.M. Andrews)
On the morning of April 25, 2015, the Annual Dauphin Island Regatta was underway in Mobile Bay along the Alabama coast. A total of 117 boats with 476 people set out for the 18-mile race at 10:45 a.m., but the outing turned into a deadly disaster when severe weather struck.
The race started out in fair weather. However, by 3:30 p.m., severe thunderstorms with winds in excess of 73 mph and large swells of 8-10 feet swept across the bay, sinking eight boats and killing six people. A total of 40 people were rescued.
A radar loop from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. on April 25, 2015. The location of the regatta is shown as the red square in Mobile Bay.
The Coast Guard's report on the tragedy was completed in 2016 and released in 2019. The severe weather was listed as the main cause of the deadly accident, but there were exacerbating factors.
The report indicated that the race committee didn't immediately notify racers of incoming severe weather, and people on the boats were not monitoring communications properly to receive those warnings. It also said that all crewmembers failed to wear PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices). Some underestimated the severity of the weather, the report said, which was forecast by the National Weather Service prior to the race's beginning.
Recommendations from the report included ordering the U.S. Sailing Association to amend its racing rules to require all crewmembers to wear PFDs and requiring race skippers to have a handheld VHF radio in their person for effective communication.
