Christian Wölffer, owner of Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, was hit and killed by a boat while he was swimming in Brazil on New Year's Eve, the winery said Friday.
Wölffer, 70, was on vacation and was hit by the boat while swimming in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian news reports said the boat's propeller cut a deep wound in his chest.
A native of Hamburg, Germany, Wölffer was fluent in six languages and had business interests from the Far East to South America in investment banking, venture capital, real estate, agriculture and entertainment parks.
In 1978, he purchased Sagpond Farm, a 14-acre parcel with a farmhouse surrounded by potato fields in Sagaponack. He invested more than $15 million in his South Fork winemaking venture, expanding his holdings to more than 170 acres including his 55-acre Wölffer Estate Vineyard as well as his home, stables, and grazing land for his thoroughbred horses.
Wölffer began his business career in 1955, at age 17, as a trainee at a bank. Source
Friday, January 2, 2009
WOMAN'S BODY FOUND HOURS AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A woman in her 60s was found dead after a boat carrying a family of six capsized in the St. Johns River about noon on New Year's Day.
It's not known why the boat capsized about two miles north of the Mathews Bridge.
A private boater pulled four of the six boaters from the water. Jacksonville Fire-Rescue rescued another person -- a man in his 50s -- who was still on the capsized boat and suffered a serious injury.
"I'm not sure if all six individuals are a family or if they are related to each other, but the man who we transported to Shands-Jacksonville indicated to emergency responders that his sister is still unaccounted for," said JFRD spokesman John Bracey.
JFRD and police dive teams were called to the scene to search for the sixth person, but Channel 4 was told the current was too strong for them to go in the water. Just before 5 p.m., the woman's body was found still in the hull of the overturned boat.
The names of the victims were not released and what caused the boat to capsize was still under investigation.
Source
BOAT WEDGES UNDER WORLD WAR II RELIC
GALVESTON, Texas — An unnamed 25-foot boat displaced by Hurricane Ike is now pinned under a World War II-era destroyer on Pelican Island, complicating efforts to return the popular tourist attraction to its berth.
The USS Stewart, one of only three remaining U.S. Navy destroyers built during World War II, was moved out of its resting place at Seawolf Park after Ike made landfall Sept. 13.
When floodwaters subsided, members of the Cavalla Historical Foundation who maintain the Stewart discovered another boat wedged underneath it. Foundation curator John McMichael said the boat has a green hull, an 11-foot stern and bumpers hanging over its side, but work crews have been unable to find a name or any other identifying markings.
On Tuesday, Galveston's Park Board of Trustees, which manages Seawolf Park and partners with the foundation to keep the Stewart open to the public, will hire a company to separate the boats.
The Cavalla, a World War II submarine, is also permanently berthed at the park on Pelican Island and was only slightly moved by Ike. Ernie Connor, a member of both the park board and the historical foundation, said that once crews finish righting the Stewart, the foundation will build a new gangplank to the Cavalla and open the hatch again for tours.
The Stewart was added to the National Register of Historic Places earlier this year. The ship commenced North Atlantic convoy operations in 1944 and made 30 crossings. It was decommissioned in January 1947.
Local officials hope the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help pay to right the Stewart and make repairs to the rest of the display around the ship.
Information from: The Galveston County News, http://www.galvnews.com.
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