Philip “Greg” Velez, of Saginaw, Michigan, is the recipient of the 2025 Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy from the Cruising Club of America (CCA) for rescuing a sailor who fell off a competitor’s boat in trying conditions during the 101st Bayview Mackinac Race.
After close to an hourlong search in high winds and building seas in response to a mayday call, Velez and crew aboard his Amante 2, a Farr 49, were successful in finding and saving Pete Pryce, 72, who had fallen from Trident, a Santa Cruz 70.
The CCA annually awards the Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy to a sailor for an act of seamanship which significantly contributes to the safety of a yacht, or one or more individuals at sea.
During the afternoon of July 12, the first day of the 259-nautical-mile race, a squall line came across Lake Huron with winds over 40 knots, laying flat several entrants. Pryce fell off Trident, which struggled to right itself for several minutes while he drifted away in the winds and waves.
Velez heard the man overboard mayday alert over the VHF radio and without hesitation put his well-trained crew into action. They identified where the boat in distress had been and sailed up behind its track, though not at first finding Pryce. After 50 minutes, Amante 2 retraced the path of the boat and spotted Pryce hanging on to an inflatable dan buoy. The Amante 2 crew deployed a Lifesling and retrieved Pryce, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, on the first pass.
“I am unbelievably proud of my crew; they were not going to give up the search until he was found,” says Velez. “Once we found him, the retrieval was the easy part. The crew made it look like they were picking up a water skier.”
After Pryce was rescued, he was given dry clothes, foul weather gear, and an inflatable PFD. Pryce insisted on completing the race aboard Amante 2; the crew resumed racing to Mackinac Island and took third in their class on corrected time, after being granted redress for the time spent making the rescue.
“My crew was determined to catch every boat in our class,” Velez recalls. “This was a pretty significant declaration, considering that the lead boat was 12 nautical miles ahead and doing 13 knots. But we started reeling them in one at a time and over the next 30 hours we caught them all! I am blessed with an unbelievable crew!”
Velez possesses a lifelong passion for sailing. He is chairman of the board at BaySail, (www.nemiglsi.org), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering environmental stewardship of the Saginaw Bay Watershed and the Great Lakes Ecosystem. Velez is also a member and former commodore of the Bay City Yacht Club, Bay City, Michigan.
