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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | February 2008 
Family 'Shocked' by US Sailor's Death
 Manuel de la Cruz
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| | Army soldiers stand next to a sailboat that ran aground near the town of Puerto Madero, southern Mexico, near the border with Guatemala, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008. The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, 78, of Alameda, Calif., was found floating near the sailboat, Culin, which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. According to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Long had sent a distress signal earlier in the day. (AP/Juan de Dois Garcia Davish) | | |
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico - The son of a 78-year-old California man found dead after his yacht ran aground in Mexico said the family tried unsuccessfully to dissuade him from sailing solo halfway around the world.
The body of a man believed to be John J. Long, of Alameda, Calif., was discovered floating Saturday afternoon near the town of Puerto Madero, just north of Mexico's border with Guatemala, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said.
One of Long's three sons, Philip Long of Castro Valley, Calif., said Monday that family members were "shocked" to hear of his father's death. At the same time, he said, they knew Long's plan to sail around Cape Horn and back to his native Ireland carried some risk.
"The more we fought him on it, the more he wanted to do it," Long told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "At least he was doing what he wanted to do."
It was unclear how Long died or why the boat grounded. Bryan said he sent a distress signal from the 48-foot boat, "Culin," which bore Irish, Mexican and U.S. flags. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed its Alameda center received an alert.
Authorities in Puerto Madero told the U.S. Embassy the boat may have encountered electrical problems, she added.
Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were investigating whether the boat was linked to organized crime or drug trafficking after they discovered a false bottom, according to a navy official who asked not to be named for security reasons. He said Long was found with bruises all over his body.
Residents of a nearby town saw two people carrying suitcases leave the boat, said Saul Gomez, head of a local fishermen's group.
Two people were detained in connection with the incident, state police spokesman Bernardo Gomez said, but it was not clear if they were the same pair.
Philip Long said he last spoke to his father about a week ago, when the ex-merchant marine and craftsman carpenter called to say he was leaving Mexico for Panama.
Frustrated because he didn't speak any Spanish, John Long was considering cutting through the Panama Canal instead of sailing around the cape, the son said.
He categorically denied that his father could have been engaged in drug-running or any other kind of smuggling, saying, "There's no way in hell I would believe my dad would do anything like that."
A gas station manager in the western Pacific port of Manzanillo told the AP by phone on Monday that he sold motor oil to the man about eight to 10 days ago.
"He was telling me that he was going to Panama and then to Rio de Janeiro," said Francisco Bartida, 23. Bartida spoke in English to the AP and said he also spoke in English to Long.
"They are saying things about organized crime and drug trafficking. I know I only talked to this guy for about a half hour, but I don't think that is right," Bartida said. "I don't think he was involved in that kind of business."
"I just believe his family should know that he was OK eight days ago. He was alive and well here in Manzanillo, and now, look at this."
Philip Long said it made sense that his father may have been headed for Rio de Janeiro, where a daughter-in-law's family lives.
Born in Ireland, John Long settled in the United States in 1965 and became a U.S. citizen, his son said. He left about four months ago from Alameda and stopped in Santa Barbara, Calif., to visit another son before heading to Mazatlan, where he remained grounded for a month with engine problems.
He spent another four weeks in Manzanillo after being towed into shore by the Mexican navy with electrical problems.
Long had a history of heart problems and was taking blood thinners and blood pressure medication, his son said.
The family will likely have his father's body cremated in Mexico, returned to the U.S. and taken to Ireland, Long said. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City has told the family a report on how he died would not be available for about two weeks, he said.
Associated Press writers Jessica Bernstein-Wax and Lisa J. Adams in Mexico City and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco contributed to this report. |
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