Deaths of Two Boaters Linked to Fierce Wind

Fierce winds claimed at least two lives in Southern California, further battering an already storm-damaged Redondo Beach Pier and stranding 1,400 tourists on Santa Catalina Island, authorities said Sunday.

The body of a man believed to be a boater who attempted to swim for help after the engine on his boat failed in rough water washed ashore in El Segundo on Sunday, police said.

The victim, whose name was not released, left two companions with the disabled 17-foot boat near Ballona Creek, about five miles from where the body was found at 2:45 p.m., Los Angeles County lifeguards said. When the three were unable to attract the attention of other boaters, the victim--wearing a life jacket--attempted to swim for help.

The boat eventually drifted near the Manhattan Beach pier, where the two men told authorities of their missing companion.

A passenger aboard a 51-foot sailboat, who was knocked overboard and drowned Saturday, was identified as Bud Osgood, 48, of Canoga Park, authorities said.

Osgood, who was not wearing a life jacket, was struck by sail rigging and fell into the turbulent ocean about five miles north of Santa Catalina’s Avalon Harbor, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Two others aboard the boat unsuccessfully searched for him before alerting authorities.

The Redondo Beach Municipal Pier, already hammered by a January storm that closed the northernmost section of Fisherman’s Wharf, lost a 155-foot section Saturday to 52-m.p.h. winds and 10- to 12-foot waves. Damage was estimated at $1 million.

“I don’t think anybody anticipated that it was going to be nearly this bad,” said Redondo Beach City Council Member Kay Horrell. “I mean, who talks to God? The main thing is nobody’s been hurt or killed. The property? Somehow you’re always going to get that back.”

About 1,400 people were stranded at Avalon on Saturday after 60-m.p.h gusts forced officials to close the harbor. The winds abated by Sunday morning, and passenger boats began picking up tourists who had spent the night inside the Casino and a high school gymnasium, Coast Guard officials said.

The winds will “diminish some today, especially along the coast,” said Janice Roth, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.