The rescue agencies that have been searching for the American schooner with a crew of 7 that disappeared between New Zealand and Australia have concluded that the ship must have gone down quickly in the storm. It carried an emergency locator beacon that apparently no one activated - and which was not the type of EPIRB that floats freely after a sinking and turns on automatically. Whatever happened out there must have happened very fast. This sailing tragedy, like so many others, should remind us all of the many steps sailors can take to help prevent or respond to emergencies on the water.
