At least one is dead after a powerful storm capsized several sailboats participating in a regatta , and crews searched late on Saturday for at least four people missing in the waters , the Coast Guard said . The storm rolled through the area about 4 p.m. and a man was plucked from the waters by the Coast Guard around 9 p.m. , Petty officer Carlos Vega said . He said crews would search through the night . 'We knew we were totally lost at sea , ' said regatta participant Rhonda Morgan Gilreath , right , shown with her boyfriend Randy Rutledge of Rome Georgia on Saturday . Dauphin Island Regatta sailors gather near their docked sailboats on Saturday , April 25 , 2015 , in Dauphin Island , Alabama where Coast Guard officials said they responded to a report of multiple capsized vessels . More than 100 sailboats and as many as 200 people were participating in the Dauphin Island regatta in Mobile Bay . Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier told Al.com that at least one person was confirmed dead , but he did not know the cause . 'It 's been a very tragic day , ' Michael Smith , with the Buccaneer yacht club , told WSFA-TV . 'We 've had a lot of breakage , missing people , fatalities . ' Susan Kangal , who was on a boat , told WSFA it was the worst storm that she has seen . 'We were probably an inch from capsizing ; everybody was ready to jump . I did n't have a life jacket on , ' she said . The boats were part of the 57th iteration of the race . Scattered boats : 'They were scattered anywhere from Dauphin Island Bridge all the way out into Mobile Bay and across to Fort Morgan . It was a wide area , ' said Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier . Feeling blessed : Well-wishers congratulate regatta participant Robert Luiten of Mobile , Alabama , in blue shirt , on word that his son , Leonard Luiten , was found several hours after their boat capsized in a storm on Saturday . 'Apparently there were a number of vessels that became distressed , either capsized or what have you , ' the mayor said . 'They were scattered anywhere from Dauphin Island Bridge all the way out into Mobile Bay and across to Fort Morgan . It was a wide area , ' said Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier . AL.com reports that Richard Mather , 52 , of Mobile , was aboard a 39-foot O'Day sailboat along with seven people , when he saw two boats collide . He said that they expected thunderstorms but not as severe as they were . 'But we were not prepared for a gale , ' Mather said , 'which is almost like a 30-minute hurricane . ' Mather was n't in the race and was able to pull three people onto his vessel about two miles north of the Dauphin Island Bridge . He said the boaters seemed extremely tired but none of them were injured . 'They were exhausted but they were fine , ' he said . 'Their boats sunk so fast that they did n't have time to grab life preservers . '
A powerful storm capsized several sailboats participating in a regatta , and crews searched for at least one people missing in the waters . Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said that at least four person was confirmed dead , but he did not know the cause . 'It 's been a very tragic day , ' Michael Smith , with the Buccaneer yacht club . The identities of those who are dead and missing have not yet been revealed .