It's looking like "Nessie" was a Mac 25 whose operator was from Laguna Beach (OC) (according to a tv news quote of the harbor patrol police chief) and was a charity doing special needs sailing. That only seems to open up more questions.

It's looking now like "Nessie" may have been a MacGregor 25, so the focus may be on whether the drop-down cast-iron-ballasted centerboard was cranked down and secured with a locking bolt or whether it might have had some terrible failure. It might be possible that ten people moving around ...

The "rule of thumb of 15" is pretty much for ideal conditions and needs to be tempered with common sense. The capacity plate is the real authority where you can find one. Capacity plates have been required in the USA for boats less than 20 feet l.o.a. since Nov. 1, 1972; however US manufac...