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I remember several members are from
the bay.
found this on aol.
Publisher Goes Missing While on
Sailing Trip
Crews Conduct Search of
Chesapeake Bay
By BEN NUCKOLS
AP
BALTIMORE (June 11) - Rescue crews searched the
Chesapeake Bay on Sunday for a prominent publisher and former diplomat whose
sailboat was found empty and drifting in shallow water. Philip Merrill, 72, an experienced sailor, had taken
his 41-foot sailboat out alone Saturday, and he typically followed an 18-mile
round trip without wearing a lifejacket, said Col. Mark S. Chaney,
superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police. Skies were clear with winds gusting up to 25 mph - "a
condition that would probably be difficult for a single sailor alone," Chaney
said. State and federal agencies searched 100 square miles of
the bay with aircraft and boats. But rescue crews think Merrill fell overboard
since his wallet was found on board and there was no damage to the boat,
officials said. "As time goes by, chances of survival are less and
less," Chaney said. Merrill's family issued a statement saying he had been
an avid yachtsman since he first learned to sail at age 7. "If there was anyone who could captain a boat
competently alone, it was Phil," the statement said. "He just couldn't resist a
sunny day with the wind at his back." Two boaters found Merrill's boat near Plum Point, about
25 miles south of Annapolis, and called police, officials said Merrill is chairman of the board of Annapolis-based
Capital-Gazette Communications Inc., which publishes Washingtonian magazine, The
Capital and five other Maryland newspapers. Merrill took leave from publishing in December 2002 to
be president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. His
term expired in July 2005. He served as assistant secretary-general of NATO in
Brussels from 1990 to 1992 and from 1983 to 1990 he served on the Department of
Defense Policy Board. From 1981 to 1983, he was counselor to the undersecretary
of defense for policy. In 1988, the secretary of defense awarded him the Medal
for Distinguished Service, the highest civilian honor given by the
department. Merrill has represented the United States in
negotiations on the Law of the Sea Conference, the International
Telecommunications Union and various disarmament and exchange agreements with
the former Soviet Union. He is a former special assistant to the deputy
secretary of state and has worked in the White House on national security
affairs. The college of journalism at the University of Maryland
was named for him, as was the headquarters of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation -
both after multimillion-dollar donations. Associated Press writers Amanda Kell, in Annapolis,
and Brian Witte in Baltimore contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. The information contained
in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise
distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All
active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. AP-ES-06-11-06
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