Ventura County Sailor Drowns
A 46-year-old Ventura County sailor, who was thwarted from attending a popular coastal boat race by high winds and rough seas, drowned this week when he accidentally fell overboard while returning to Port Hueneme.
Clayton Allen Bartholomew, who had residences in Moorpark and Oxnard, was knocked off the deck of the Amor Del Mar by the boat’s boom about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. A certified scuba diver and licensed boat captain, Bartholomew was serving as a crew member and traveling with two friends, authorities said.
According to the Ventura County medical examiner’s office, Bartholomew worked in the movie industry and had intended to sail to Newport Beach for Friday’s start of the annual Newport to Ensenada yacht race. But waves up to 12 feet, and winds 15 to 20 knots, scrubbed the trip.
The boat was headed back to shore when the accident occurred about five miles southwest of the Port Hueneme Pier.
A Ventura County Sheriff’s Department helicopter located Bartholomew’s body and personnel from the Coast Guard Station Channel Islands recovered it about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
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