Rescue teams searched through the night for Laura Gainey, daughter of Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey, two days after she was washed off a tall ship from Nova Scotia.

"People can survive out there. It comes down to what situation they are in and sometimes it can come down to sheer will. So we're continuing with our search," Petty Officer Larry Chambers of the U.S. Coast Guard told CBC News.

On Sunday, the hockey club identified Gainey, 25, as the woman who was swept off the deck of the Lunenburg-based Picton Castle by a rogue wave during a storm Friday night. The vessel was en route to Grenada when the accident occurred about 760 kilometres southeast of Cape Cod, Mass.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which is heading the search, said that as of Sunday, U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard planes, a motor tanker and the Picton Castle had scoured 2,400 square kilometres looking for Gainey.

Laura Gainey, 25, was swept off the Picton Castle on Friday night. She wasn't wearing a life jacket or a survival suit.
(Courtesy of Barque Picton Castle)

Gainey wasn't wearing a survival suit or life jacket when she was swept overboard at 9:30 p.m. Friday.

The U.S. Coast Guard estimated Gainey would be able to survive about 36 hours, based on factors that include her age, her physical fitness and the water temperature of around 22 C.

Crew threw her life jackets, rings

But Daniel Moreland, the senior captain of the Picton Castle, said it was too early to give up.

'The water's warm. There's reason for hope.' -Daniel Moreland, captain of the Picton Castle

"The water's warm. There's reason for hope," he told CBC News on Sunday from Mahone Bay, N.S., where he has been following the search.

"As soon as someone goes over, it's very problematic to get them back, except if conditions are perfect, and conditions are far from perfect.

"But there are many cases of people being in the water for long periods of time as long as it's warm, so we're going to keep the search up."

Gainey was 'very dedicated, very hard-working and very passionate about being on the ship,' according to the Picton Castle's skipper.
(Courtesy of Barque Picton Castle)

Moreland said that as soon as Gainey hit the water, crew members threw over rescue gear to mark the site and help her stay afloat. The captain said it was pitch black at the time, making it almost impossible for the crew of 29 to see her.

"There's a lot of debris, a lot of life rings: ten or more life rings and life vests would have been thrown at her," he said.

The tall ship was four days into a voyage to Grenada, travelling along the Gulf Stream, when it encountered bad weather.

Moreland said by all accounts Gainey was where she should have been on the vessel, seeking shelter from the storm.

Gainey is a volunteer on the vessel who is known to be a good swimmer, very fit and is "a well-loved crew member," Moreland said. He described her as "very dedicated, very hard-working and very passionate about being on the ship."

The Montreal Canadiens issued a statement Sunday saying Gainey had passed his duties on to assistant GM Pierre Gauthier while he and his three other children — Anna, Colleen and Steve — await word. Laura Gainey's mother, Cathy, died of brain cancer at age 39 in 1995.

Gainey inspired Frank J. Selke Trophy

Her father, a hockey legend, has been GM of the Habs since May 2003, returning to the team that he helped win five Stanley Cups in his 16 NHL seasons from 1973 to 1989. At one point, a Soviet national team coach called Gainey — a left winger and eventual captain — the best all-around player in the world.

His relentless style on the ice spurred the NHL to create a new post-season award, the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the top defensive forward. Gainey won it for each of the first four years it was presented.

Gainey was named captain of the Canadiens before the 1981-82 season.

He was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

With files from the Canadian Press