'80s Loverboy Guitarist Missing

Monday, December 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) â€” Friends of a guitarist from the 1980s pop band Loverboy searched the churning waters of the Pacific Ocean on Saturday but found no sign of the musician, who had been swept off his sailboat.

Scott Smith, 45, of Vancouver, British Columbia, was knocked off the 37-foot sailboat on Thursday about four miles off San Francisco's Ocean Beach, an area where the sea floor shallows and wave heights can grow monstrous.

The wave that swept Smith overboard was so strong it broke the boat's steering wheel, according to a press release from Loverboy manager Lou Blair. Friends Yvonne Mayotte and William Ellis were below deck when the wave hit and were not injured.

The three were moving the boat to a marina in Southern California, where Smith was planning to stay for the season, Blair said.

The Coast Guard spent two days searching a 133-square-mile area for Smith with no success, petty officer Carl Hausner said.

Smith was wearing track pants and two sweaters but no lifejacket when the wave knocked him in the 52-degree water. The average person could survive a little less than 2 1/2 hours in such conditions, Hausner said.

Friends hired a marine service and conducted their own private search of the area Saturday but returned after four hours.

``We went out to the location didn't see anything,'' said Weststar general manager Rich Smith.

The band Loverboy released its debut album in 1980 and had such Top 20 hits as ``Working for the Weekend,'' ``Lovin' Every Minute of It,'' and ``Turn me Loose.''