[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2812-S2813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                              LOST AT SEA

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I 
speak in memory of five extraordinary sailors who recently died at sea 
during a boat race off the coast of California.
  On Saturday, April 15, the sailing vessel Low Speed Chase was one of 
49 boats participating in the Full Crew Farallones Race, which has been 
run annually from San Francisco to the Farallon Islands and back since 
1907. As the yacht rounded an island, it was broadsided by huge waves 
and crashed onto the rocks.
  Three sailors survived and were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. 
Tragically, the lives of five others--Alexis Busch, Alan Cahill, Jordan 
Fromm, Marc Kasanin, and Elmer Morrissey--were lost.
  Alexis Busch, who as a teenager had been a beloved batgirl for the 
San Francisco Giants, managed the Ross Valley Swim and Tennis Club and 
crewed in sailing races from San Francisco Bay to Australia. Her 
longtime boyfriend and sailing partner, Nick Vos, was one of the 
survivors on the Low Speed Chase.
  Alan Cahill was a married father of two children and a master marine 
craftsman who served as caretaker for

[[Page S2813]]

many boats at the San Francisco Yacht Club. Originally from Cork, 
Ireland, Alan moved to the Bay Area to pursue his love of racing. He 
was a talented sailor and good friend, who served as the best man at 
the wedding of his crewmate, Bryan Chong, one of the three survivors.
  Jordan Fromm was a lifelong sailor who was a fixture at the San 
Francisco Yacht Club, where he had been a member since childhood and 
participated in its youth sailing programs. Fromm planned to start his 
own yacht restoration business.
  Marc Kasanin grew up in Belvedere, started sailing at age 5, and 
spent most of his life on the water as a sailor and a nautical artist. 
His artwork was recently displayed at the Tiburon Art Festival.
  Elmer Morrissey earned a Ph.D. in energy engineering and worked as a 
software designer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In addition 
to sailing, he enjoyed playing music and rugby and writing humorous 
sports blogs.
  These crew members were some of the Bay Area's best sailors. Their 
loss is a devastating blow to their families, to their friends, to 
their crewmates, and to the entire sailing community. At this most 
difficult time, my heart goes out to them all.

                          ____________________