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Interesting! Thank you for confirming the number of students aboard. I still find it strange that no complete list of students’ names seems to be available. I’ve searched too....
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Thanks, Melian. you are welcome,

I found that odd too about not finding a list of names of survivors as well as a list in one place of the fatalities. That is why I included links to the stories by Langford, thinking that his work might name them if they could be obtained.

I did run across this name of one who lost his life, Rick Marcellus. Last night, I did not notice that there was a “read more” button, so this morning I did find that this story produced the names of the others who were lost:

“...The Albatross sank almost instantly, taking with her Alice Sheldon; the ship’s cook, George Ptacnik; and four students, Chris Coristine, John Goodlett, Rick Marsellus, and Robin Wetherill...”.

Rick Marcellus - lost at sea
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67184908/rick-marcellus

Christopher B. Sheldon’s Ocean Academy of Darien, Connecticut, acquired the brigantine Albatross in 1959. The ship was used for student education and combined preparatory college classes, with sailing technique and training. For three years, Christopher Sheldon Ph.D., and his wife, Alice Strahan Sheldon M.D., oversaw programs aboard the vessel for up to 14 students, while sailing the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Beginning in the fall of 1960, the Sheldons, two other instructors, a cook, and 13 students, including Rick Marcellus, sailed the Albatross from the Bahamas through the Caribbean to the Galapagos Islands and back to the Caribbean. A fourteenth student aboard for the initial part of the voyage left the ship in Balboa, Panama. The schooner was en route from Progreso, Mexico, to Nassau, the Bahamas, when on May 1st, skipper Sheldon decided to make a stop at one of the Florida Keys to refuel.

While in the Gulf of Mexico about 125 miles west of the Dry Tortugas, the Albatross was struck by a sudden squall. The squall hit shortly after 8:30 am on May 2, 1961, causing the ship to keel over very suddenly. The Albatross sank almost instantly, taking with her Alice Sheldon; the ship’s cook, George Ptacnik; and four students, Chris Coristine, John Goodlett, Rick Marsellus, and Robin Wetherill. There had not been enough time to send a distress signal before the Albatross was lost, so the remaining crew used two lifeboats to make their way. The lifeboats were found by the Dutch freighter, “Gran Rio”, about 7:30 am on May 3rd. and the survivors taken to Tampa, Florida.

According to Christopher Sheldon, the Albatross was hit by a white squall, a very unpredictable, strong, and sudden squall. He believed the ship was stable and the crew of teenagers, who had spent eight months on board, sufficiently trained. The skipper claimed the rare phenomenon left the vessel with no chance of survival. Critics argued that refitting of the vessel over the years by previous owners had made her top heavy, which impacted her ability to remain stable or recover from tilting to the side, as opposed to capsizing.

In 1966 a film directed by Ridley Scott, entitled “While Squall”, depicted the fate of the Albatross and her crew. Academy Award winning actor, Jeff Bridges, portrayed Skipper Christopher Sheldon.