...apparently one was spotted on course and contact was attempted on VHF.

"Two race participants who were in the area at the time the Aegean disappeared said they saw or heard a freighter.

Cindy Arosteguy of Oxnard, Calif., remembers hearing on her radio someone say, "Do you see us?" as she saw a tanker about a half-mile away.

"I got back on the radio and said, 'Yes, I see you,'" she said. "It was definitely a freighter."

In Ensenada, several hundred people held a minute of silence for the victims at an awards ceremony that spilled out in a courtyard from a large white canopy at a hotel that served as race headquarters."

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I've done this race 6 times and have also done the San Diego to Ensenada race several times. At night you look about and all you see are red and green lights, and lots and lots of contacts on radar. I can't help but wonder if AIS might have help identify this yacht to a larger vessel... if in fact the larger ship had and used AIS and proper watches. I can't imagine that a large vessel would not see at least dozens of boats in the area and take precautions. Then again they zip in and out of the San Diego entry pretty darn fast.