Detectives have been combing over the 42-foot yacht named "The Bella."
Members of the Sequoia Yacht Club tell ABC7 News that the yacht's mast snapped during a regatta Wednesday evening and killed a sailor onboard.
Officials tell ABC7 News that The Bella was on the bay around 6:45 p.m. when it apparently got too close to a channel marker. That's when one of the guide wires that supports the mast got caught on the marker.
The Coast Guard says the mast broke off and crashed down on top of the crew of five sailors, killing one and injuring two others.
We're told a small USGS boat was nearby and rescued the crew.
A witness says he saw them coming into the dock at the Port of Redwood City. It's also where they unloaded the body of the dead sailor.
"They were frantic," said one witness. "They were telling everybody cause there were people coming in on other sailboats and there were people driving in saying 'get out of the way, get out of the way, we gotta go.' So they zoomed up quick. The moment they zoomed up the EMTs raced down to the bottom of the dock."
Yacht club members say this was a casual regatta they hold every Wednesday, noting it's all for fun and the competition is very light.
They say they've never had a serious injury or fatality in the club's 75 year history.
So far, the victims have not yet been identified.
Yacht club members say the weekly regattas have been postponed for the next two weeks.
