McClung Freed to Hugs, Smiles

The grueling odyssey of Newport Beach yachtsman Scott McClung ended here Friday when a federal judge freed the ailing mariner, five weeks after McClung was arrested for having guns aboard his vessel.

Drawn and wan, McClung, 36, embraced his father, girlfriend and attorney after he was informed that Judge Alfredo Torres--deliberating for 28 hours over three days--had dropped weapons charges that could have meant a 5- to 30-year prison sentence.

“I’m just so happy that this whole thing is now behind me and I can get started with my life again,” said McClung, who thanked “everyone who’s been keeping me in prayer.”

There were no sudden waterfalls of tears or explosions of emotion, just subdued jubilation and cracked smiles when the long-awaited word came via attorney William Bollard of Irvine.

A few hours later, Miguel Angel Sosa, a consultant for the U.S. Consulate in Merida, in the state of Yucatan, visited McClung in his hospital room, where he’s been kept under guard and treated for a stress-related illness, and solemnly read the judge’s order.

McClung was standing, his father Eugene’s arm around him, as Sosa took nearly eight minutes to intone the lengthy legalese. Only then did eyes start to fill up. McClung’s sister, Cindy Flood, began to sob and the group hugged.

“I’m definitely ready to get back on the ocean and get the ship back home,” said Scott McClung, who plans to fly to Costa Rica to pilot his ship home. “I believe I’m physically and emotionally ready to do this. I definitely want to go back to work. I definitely need to get out the door.”

Soon, McClung strode out the clinic door and into the evening, which had been washed by a light rain.

“Unbelievable,” McClung said as a humid tropical breeze rushed into his lungs. “I love the air down here. It’s just excellent.”

McClung grew serious, saying he harbors no ill will toward the Mexican government or its people. “I’m really not angry at anybody here in Mexico,” he said. “I did get frustrated because five weeks of my life went on hold. Time that I’ve lost.”

McClung, his 71-year-old father, and the ship’s first mate, Noah Bailey of Dana Point, were arrested in Cozumel, a gemstone resort of 50,000 people, on Aug. 10 and charged with violating Mexico’s strict weapons laws. Officials found two AR-15 semiautomatic rifles and three shotguns aboard the $4.5-million vessel, the Rapture. Other crew members were not taken into custody.

McClung said the yacht was armed because U.S. Coast Guard officials in Florida, where the boat began its journey, had warned him to beware of pirates who strike private vessels in the Caribbean.

The Newport Beach-bound Rapture pulled into Cozumel with a mechanical problem and authorities arrested the trio when the guns were discovered, although the McClungs insist they declared the firearms when they entered port.

The elder McClung and Bailey were released, but quiet, sustained diplomatic efforts continued to try to spring Scott McClung, who spent the last four weeks of captivity in the small and spare hospital room, where he read the Bible and did light exercise to help ward off panic attacks.

At one point, McClung’s lawyers accused prosecutor Claudio Sanchez of trying to coax a $10,000 bribe. Sanchez has declined to talk about the case, but he was summoned by a superior to discuss purported irregularities connected to the arrests.

On Friday, McClung vowed to continue carrying weapons aboard the Rapture.

“I needed the weapons on board to protect the crew, which included three of my nephews and nieces, and the vessel. Normal shotguns aren’t going to do any good if someone boards your vessel.”

McClung’s release was won after a chaotic day of phone calls, telegrams, and behind-the-scenes machinations involving Mexican and U.S. attorneys, several Cozumel law enforcement agencies, and a federal court in Cancun, where McClung’s case was resolved.

Using the residence of Sosa, the U.S. consultant, McClung’s lawyers turned his home--loaded with computers, fax lines and other high-tech communications equipment--into a makeshift headquarters.

“One of the ways you know who can get things done in Mexico is the number of phone lines going into a person’s home,” said Bollard. “Sosa has four phone lines and they all work.”

Judge, Prosecutor Work on Release

The long-sought prize was a release paper signed by Judge Torres, whose jurisdiction stretches across Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Torres and prosecutor Sanchez had worked on the release document most of Thursday and into early Friday morning, said McClung’s father.

“Our Mexican attorneys said they saw the light on in the judge’s office until 2 in the morning,” Eugene McClung said.

While the legal wheels turned slowly, McClung, family members and supporters waited, enduring the constant torture of having had their hopes soar, then get dashed.

But when the release was eventually signed and then sent to Cozumel by telegram earlier in the day, the document was for an unrelated case. Nerves were frayed.

“We’ve waited this long,” said McClung’s disappointed sister, Cindy Flood. “We’ll be happy when Scott is released from the clinic and he walks out and gets on a plane and leaves.”

Finally, the correct paper arrived.

The family’s attorneys also added to the chaotic scene Friday when Bollard told the McClungs of his plans to fly from Cozumel Friday afternoon to attend a function in Orange County. Bollard postponed his departure until he was replaced by Daniel Fuller, another of the lawyers from Orange County.

With Fuller’s arrival, McClung’s legal team gathered steam. They waited for the second telegram to arrive in a local court in Cozumel and then in teams loaded into different cars to hand deliver the judge’s order releasing Scott McClung to several local police agencies, and the clinic.

The notification was necessary, Bollard said, to prevent Scott McClung from being arrested again and held by officials who hadn’t gotten the word of the judge’s ruling.

With the judge’s order in hand, the attorney said the only missing piece was Scott McClung’s passport, which he needed to clear customs and leave Mexico.

For that task, they relied on the help of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who had also secured the use of a private jet to fly Scott McClung home from Cozumel. Instead, Sanchez flew to Cancun and obtained his passport from the judge’s office.

Late in the day, it appeared that McClung had opted not to take the jet back to California, but instead catch a flight to the Costa Rican port of Golfito, where he intends to rejoin his crew that sailed the Rapture there after leaving Cozumel. The yacht is being repaired for steering and rudder failure.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) said he also spoke with McClung’s attorneys in Irvine to discuss the legal ramifications of the case. He then began working with the State Department and, this week, and Mexico’s Embassy in Washington.

Joyous Reaction From Friends, at Church

In Orange County, where friends, school children and church members did everything from pray to write letters on Scott McClung’s behalf, there was a joyous reaction to his release.

“I talked to Scott yesterday and could feel his voice tremble. He could taste freedom,” said Scott Crowell, business manager for Certified Marine Expeditions, the firm owned by the McClungs.

“I know Scott’s really anxious to get on the ship, and get back to work,” Crowell said. “His release is going to be an emotional time here.”

At Mariners South Coast Church in Irvine, where Scott McClung is an active member and volunteer for the church’s youth programs, church members and staffers have been waiting for the chance to celebrate his release.

“Everybody’s been on pins and needles,” said Sara Schantz, the communications director for the church. “People want to be excited, but when you’re dealing with a foreign government, you don’t always know what to expect. It’s been so nerve-racking for everyone.”

Not everybody is filled with good will.

When prosecutor Sanchez went to McClung’s hospital room to tell the police guards they could leave, an attorney asked him whether he’d care to talk to McClung. Sanchez nodded his head, “no.”

He was asked whether he felt an apology was necessary.

Said Sanchez: “I have no opinion. I have no sentiments. I cannot speak about this.”

Times staff writers Robert Ourlian and Esther Schrader contributed to this report.