ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) — A Seattle man died during a sailing race near Anacortes, officials said.
According to Race Week PNW, the crew member died, the Skagit Valley Herald reported.
A story in the Seattle Times on Friday identified the crew member as Greg Mueller, who sailed on the With Grace sailing team. He was 58.
Officials said Mueller fell overboard during a regatta held in Anacortes this week.
According to the sailnorthwest.com website, the boat they were wailing was a J120 owned by Chris Johnson.
He told The Seattle Times Mueller accidentally stepped into a line that looped around his foot as the sail known as the spinnaker filled with air, jerking Mueller off the boat before he plunged into the water.
He was pulled from the water and CPR was performed, officials said.
“We are all deeply saddened to have lost a fellow racer, and my condolences go out to the crew’s family, friends, and fellow racing comrades,” event organizer Schelleen Rathkopf said in statement.
The Skagit County coroner’s office said an autopsy was scheduled for Friday and that it would release information on his cause of death on Monday.
