Pinterest Investor Loses Luxury Catamaran Off North Carolina Coast, Five Rescued

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 5 folks Friday from a luxurious sailboat belonging to distinguished Pinterest investor Brian Cohen after the sailboat’s carbon fiber mast broke off roughly 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina.

The USCG says it was notified at roughly 1:50 p.m. Friday that the 55-foot catamaran RAINMAKER, homeported in Manhattan, New York, suffered a damaged mast in 40-mph winds and 13-foot seas roughly 200 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

According to reports, Cohen was onboard together with his son and three skilled crew when it was dismasted about 36 hours right into a passage from North Carolina to St. Martin after being hit by a “full whiteout squall” with winds as much as 70 knots.

A Coast Guard aircrew arrived on scene at roughly 5 p.m. and hoisted all 5 folks. The boaters have been then transported to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina in good situation. A 350-foot cargo ship, the MV Ocean Crescent, was additionally diverted to the scene however was unable to help as a result of extreme situations.

Because of the situations, the RAINMAKER needed to be deserted.

The Rainmaker was the primary vessel of the GUNBOAT 55 sequence, a state-of-the-art luxurious catamaran designed as an “ultimate performance cat for those planning to circumnavigate as owner-operators,” in accordance with Gunboat, a number one producer of high-performance world cruising catamarans. The GUNBOAT 55 sequence was only in the near past named Cruising World’s 2015 “Domestic Boat of the Year” and “Best Multihull Cruiser” and the Rainmaker itself was solely not too long ago delivered in November 2014.

“The mission today was challenging for our crews due to the distance from shore and the weather conditions,” mentioned Petty Officer 1st Class Allen Facenda, an operations specialist in Portsmouth who labored on the case. “The crew we rescued had a registered and up-to-date emergency position indicating radio beacon that told us their exact position. All five people were wearing life jackets and were prepared to abandon their vessel in a life raft. We were happy to get there before that became necessary.”

Below is a video from Forbes profiling Brian Cohen and the RAINMAKER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiIhQe9dqVM

RAINMAKER Delivery:

USCG Rescue Video: