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Search Continues For Missing Tall Ship Captain

The Coast Guard is continuing its search for the missing captain of the tall ship that sank off North Carolina's coast. The replica ship HMS Bounty went down in wind and waves stirred up by Hurricane Sandy. 63-year-old Robin Walbridge has not been seen since Monday. Searchers rescued 14 of the ship's crew. One crew member died. Petty Officer Brandyn Hill is a Coast Guard spokesman. He says they look at several factors before opting to continue a search.

Brandyn Hill: One thing is the member's fitness, the on-scene weather conditions..his survival equipment. And one thing that's very important in this case is the fact that he was reported to have been wearing a survival suit which greatly increases his chances of survival.

The Coast Guard is searching an area of about 12-hundred square nautical miles. Commanders will decide late today if the effort to find Walbridge will continue tomorrow.

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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