Joachim “Joe” Schulz-Heik went into cardiac arrest and died after his J/105 Hilaria collided with a 122-foot motor early this morning. According to a U.S. Coast Guard press release, the accident between Hilaria and Mariner 3 occurred at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Long Island Sound, 8 miles south of Guilford, Conn. The seas were calm, but there was heavy fog and limited visibility. The 35-foot sailboat, which was entered in the Storm Trysail Club’s 20th Block Island Race Week, which starts on Monday, and was presumably en route to the island, sank quickly as a result of the collision, putting Schulz-Heik and two crewmembers into the water. After being rescued by a boat dispatched from the Coast Guard Station New Haven, Schulz-Heik went into cardiac arrest. CPR was performed by the rescue team and continued by qualified EMT personnel who rendezvoused with the rescue boat as it returned to shore. The 61-year-old resident of Larchmont, N.Y., was pronounced dead later in the morning at Yale-New Haven Hospital.Hilaria usually entered regattas with both Schultz-Heik and David Florence listed as the co-owners. Last fall at the Manhasset Bay Fall Series, Schulz-Heik and Florence were awarded the John B. Thomson Sr. Memorial Trophy for the best overall performance in combined IOR, IMS, and one-design divisionsThe Mariner 3, according to Ensign Robert Bilbo of the U.S. Coast Guard Group/Marine Safety Office Long Island Sound, is currently at anchor in New Haven Harbor. The investigation into the marine casualty incident in ongoing.
