Sailing school faces lawsuit

A New York surgeon is suing a Connecticut sailing school and a teenage girl in the death of his 3-year-old daughter who drowned while sailing in Westport, Conn., last August.

The lawsuit charges that the instructor was uncertified, the PFD was “misfitting” and there was a lack of distress signals, according to a story in the Connecticut Post.

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Moby-Dick Marathon at Mystic Seaport

Maritime tales, poetry, music and workshops will be featured at Sea Story Weekend at Mystic (Conn.) Seaport this weekend.

The weekend begins at noon Friday with the 24-hour reading of all 135 chapters of Herman Melville’s classic at the Moby-Dick Marathon. Visitors can sign up to read chapters throughout the marathon.

The reading will continue overnight aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the world’s last surviving wooden whaleship, and conclude at 11:30 a.m. Saturday with a great white cake in honor of Melville’s birthday. Copies of the  novel will be available to visitors who wish to participate.

Daytime participation is free with museum admission. Overnight participation and stay aboard the Morgan is $25 ($23 for members) and includes coffee and a pastry. Visit www.mysticseaport.org/mobydick or call (860) 572-.5322 to register.

AquaPalooza event is a hit in Alabama

More than 4,000 boats and 35,000 people attended Alan Jackson's headline performance at the recent AquaPalooza event on Lake Martin, Ala.

The event, held at Kowaliga Bay, set a record for any AquaPalooza signature event. This year's attendance figures represent an increase of more than 50 percent over last year's numbers, making it the largest signature event in the four-year history of AquaPalooza, organizers said.

Read the full story here.

Opinion: Why Steve Fossett crashed

A pilot and contributing editor to Flying magazine examines the official National Transportation Safety Board determination on the cause of death for adventurer Steve Fossett, who went missing in September 2007. In this opinion piece the author argues that Fossett's tendency to take a risk certainly contributed to his crash.

Read the full L.A. Times opinion article here.