Schooner capsize

One of the sail transport vessels of Blue Schooner Co, the early champion of sail-powered cargo shipping, has capsized and sunk south of the Bahamas archipelago. The US Coast Guard said the schooner De Gallant capsized at 03.30 local time on Tuesday 21 May and sank half an hour later. Very sudden and unexpected extremely violent winds were said to have caused the capsizing of the ship. A helicopter rescued six of the eight crew members, while two remain missing. The vessel had been sailing from Santa Marta, Colombia to Horta, Portugal and was carrying a cargo of coffee, cocoa and cane sugar with plans to sail towards various European destinations.