"The members of NHYC would like to express their sympathy to the friends and family of the boat, Uncontrollable Urge," the Newport Harbor Yacht Club wrote in a statement on its Facebook page.
Coast Guard officials said the Uncontrollable Urge, which was in small-craft advisory weather containing 8-foot swells and 20- to 25-knot winds, initially "stated they were not in need of assistance and declined assistance from both the Coast Guard and other boaters involved in the race."
FOR THE RECORD: The Coast Guard originally provided incorrect information regarding its small-craft advisory warning during the weekend’s Islands Race. The on-scene advisory weather had 20- to 25-knot winds, not 10-knot winds.
The crew issued a mayday call around 9:26 p.m. Friday after the rudder failed and the vessel began drifting toward San Clemente Island, Coast Guard officials said.
The Islands Race route is 139 nautical miles and rounds both San Clemente and Catalina islands. The San Diego Yacht Club co-sponsors the race with the NHYC.
The Uncontrollable Urge, owned and skippered by James Gilmore, was from the Silver Gate Yacht Club in San Diego, according to the San Diego Yacht Club's website.
The racing-related death involving local participants is the second in recent memory. In April 2012, during the annual Newport-to-Ensenada race, four racers from one vessel died. The official investigation report ruled that the Aegean — a 37-foot, Redondo Beach-based vessel — likely ran aground before sinking off the coast of North Coronado Island.
The four fatalities were the first in the race's 65-year history.
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Racer's perspective
Len Bose, who writes the Daily Pilot's "Harbor Report" column, participated in the Islands Race aboard the Adrenalin, a 50-foot vessel based in Newport Harbor. It was manned by about seven crew members, he said.
