Windsurfer’s Body Found by Hikers

The body of a 36-year-old Mussel Shoals man was found wedged between shoreline rocks Tuesday, one day after he apparently fell off his windsurfing board in rough seas.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard continued scouring area waters for another man who was washed off his sailboat Monday afternoon.

The body of Michael Kelley, 36, was spotted by hikers about 1 1/2 miles south of Arco Island at 10:50 a.m., officials said. The board’s mast and sail were found in the area earlier in the day.

The Sheriff’s Department, Coast Guard and Ventura County Fire Department spent two hours retrieving the body, which was wedged between heavy rocks that make up a seawall, said Lt. Arv Wells of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Kelley was windsurfing south of Punta Gorda near the Santa Barbara County line about two miles offshore when he apparently fell off about noon Monday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Dooley said. A witness called the Coast Guard when the man did not get up.

Two Coast Guard cutters and two helicopters began an 84-square-mile search for Kelley that continued until 2 a.m. Tuesday and resumed at 7 a.m.

Kelley had lived with his girlfriend in the 6000 block of Breakers Way in an unincorporated area of Ventura County since moving from Hawaii about three months ago, the coroner’s office said.

The Coast Guard was still searching Tuesday for Heinz Kluckow, 49, of Ojai, who fell off his sailboat about 12:30 p.m. Monday about two miles off Mandalay State Beach.

Kluckow was trying to retrieve a dinghy that had broken loose from his sailboat.