MONTPELIER, Vt. -
A native Vermonter is missing and feared lost in the Atlantic Ocean. 63-year old Robin Walbridge of St. Johnsbury was the Captain of the "HMS Bounty," a tall sailing ship used in several major movies.
The "HMS Bounty" left Connecticut Thursday, and was headed for Florida, but Monday morning, the ship was swallowed by the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. On board, 16 crew members... one from Vermont, Captain Robin Walbridge. I spoke with his sister by phone Tuesday.
"My gut tells me my brother's no longer with us, and he's gone out doing what he loved," Lucille Walbridge Jansen said.
After the Bounty took on water, "the waves were between 18 and 32 feet high," Walbridge Jansen said.
And the engine failed, everyone except Walbridge abandoned ship. 14 people were rescued, one was found dead. Captain Walbridge is still missing.
"Even if they never find him, his heart and desire was to be buried at sea," his sister said.
The experienced boater knew the waters would be rough, even took a course recommended by the Hurricane Center, "he was watching over everything, making sure everything was safe," Walbridge Jansen said.
Most of Walbridge's family has moved out of Vermont, but we did find one of his cousin's who lives and works in Barre. She didn't want to do an on-camera interview, but did talk with me off camera and says as long as search and rescue crews continue their efforts, she'll continue to have hope.
Walbridge was born in St. Johnsbury, and graduated from Montpelier High School in 1967. Because of Sandy, the school was closed when I stopped by Tuesday, but I found a custodian who let me in and led me into the library. As we turned the pages, we found Robin Walbridge. His family is clinging to the hope that this isn't his lasting image.
If Robin Walbridge is still alive, he's been floating in the Atlantic Ocean since about five Monday morning.
The Coast Guard plans to continue their search.
