Local News in Brief : San Clemente : Boating Family Survives Bout With Hurricane

Orange County relatives of a family missing in their sailboat since Wednesday learned Monday that the boat managed to ride out Hurricane Gilbert and that all seven aboard, including two children, are safe but hungry.

Marti and Paul Aspegren of San Clemente said their son-in-law, Michael Morehart, managed to reach his father in Santa Barbara by radio-telephone about 9 a.m. Monday. The younger Morehart reported that the boat had been blown far off course when Gilbert roared into the Yucatan Peninsula with winds that gusted up to 200 miles per hour. He said the crew expected to reach Vera Cruz, Mexico, some time Monday night.

“He said they were under sail because their auxiliary engine was out and that they had only just managed to get the radio working,” Aspegren said.

The Aspegrens said they were told that the boat “was a little beat up, but everyone aboard was fine, although food and water were running low, and that the children were real champions,” despite what they called “a horrendous experience.”

Earlier, it was reported that a Coast Guard search of the Alacan Reef and surrounding waters had failed to locate the boat.