http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/27/mobile-bay-storm-search/26444235/
DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (AP) — At first it seemed like a perfect day for sailing on Mobile Bay. Skies were partly cloudy and rain was in the forecast, but there was plenty of wind to propel a boat across the murky, choppy waters.
Then, in what seemed like an instant, a yearly regatta turned into a race for life.
Gray skies quickly turned black and lightning popped all around. Skipper Susan Kangal said the wind spiked from around 20 mph to 73 mph — 1 mph short of hurricane force — and the 34-foot-long craft she was piloting heeled over on its side.
Around the same time, as they were headed back to shore after finishing the 57th annual Dauphin Island Regatta, Connor Gaston and father Shane Gaston saw the wind yank the mainsail of their 16-foot catamaran. Within seconds, the boat flipped and dumped the two men into the roiling, frothy bay.
"After that we were in the water, we were holding on to the boat," said Connor Gaston, 26, of Helena. "The boat's being tossed around. We ended up cartwheeling around about three times."
Unhurt but soaked, the Gastons eventually righted their little boat after about 30 minutes in the water and sailed back to shore with a broken mast. Once the storm passed, Kangal's all-female crew of three women and five teens made it back safely to dock under engine power.
Others weren't as fortunate. Two people caught in the storm are dead, and four others remain missing. Another round of strong storms forced authorities to suspend air and water searches on Monday, but officials encouraged anyone who was willing to walk along the shore looking for signs of the missing.
About 20 relatives of the missing sought shelter at a state sea laboratory on Dauphin Island, where aid workers set up cots for them to sleep during the hunt for survivors.
"This very difficult, very difficult for all of them," said Michael Brown of the American Red Cross. "There is still hope."
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