On May 30, Michael Barlow and his crew were delivering his new, to him, 45-foot sloop Lady Catherine II across the Gulf of Mexico from Key West to Texas, when a storm kicked up much more forcefully than had been forecast. The sloop’s sails ripped, it’s engine quit and the autopilot ceased to function.
Fearing for their safety, Barlow called a Mayday that was picked up by the Coast Guard Station in Panama City, Florida. 200 miles to the north. The Coast Guard soon had a chopper the sloop in its sights. A rescue swimmer went into the water, a basket was lowered and Lady Catherine II’s crew was hoisted to safety.
But that left the sloop 200 miles offshore, abandoned and incapacitated. Weeks later, Lady Catherine II washed ashore on Pensacola Beach with sails in tatters. One witness watched in disbelief as the sloop was lifted by one wave after the next and deposited on the sand with no one onboard.
Barlow was notified that his boat was on the beach and traveled to Pensacola to salvage it. As of this week, Lady Catherine II is still high and dry. Read more and watch the news report and video here.
