Young Sailors Missing off Catalina

The Coast Guard is asking for the public’s help in the search for two Northern California sailors who set off from Catalina Island on Friday bound for Santa Cruz. Zebulon Tryon, 21, and Chris Reuter, whose age is somewhere between 18 and 25, set sail from Avalon Harbor aboard their newly acquired 1973 Coronado 27. It’s been reported that the boat’s small outboard wouldn’t be up to the job of long distance motoring, so the young men planned to sail the entire way. Their families were understandably concerned about the safety of the inexperienced sailors and required that they check in every day as they harbor-hopped their way up the coast.

On Sunday, the families called the Coast Guard when the young men failed to check in as scheduled. The Coasties began their search yesterday, and are continuing the search today with a C-130 airplane and two helos. At this point, the pair have not been spotted but hopes are high that their cell phones simply died.  Thankfully the weather has been relatively benign along the coast.

If you have any information on Zeb and Chris’s whereabouts, please contact the Long Beach Command Center at (310) 521-3801.