Yacht found after a year adrift
Distraught families of three yachtsmen that went missing a year ago believe that they have found their yacht.
|||Durban - Distraught families of the three yachtsmen who went missing in the Indian Ocean a year ago are convinced the overturned hull that will be towed to the shore on Monday is the catamaran Sunsail RC044-978.
On Sunday the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) sent the tug Peridot to the catamaran, to which the NSRI had attached a satellite tracking device on Saturday. The upturned hull had been spotted last week by a Brazilian naval vessel.
The Peridot’s task was to pull the catamaran back to land, possibly to Cape Town, on Monday.
On Sunday night MRCC captain Ravi Naidoo said the tug had reached the catamaran, but operations were called off because of poor light, and they would resume on Monday morning.
Diane Coetzer, a spokeswoman for the families, said that for four days after the hull had been found, they had been terrified it would disappear again.
“We now know that the tug is at the hull. We were all in a state of terror that we would never be able to find it and get whatever answers we can.”
She said after the NSRI had taken photographs of the catamaran and sent them through to them, they and other sailors were sure it was the one the men were in.
“This is definitely our hull. The NSRI sent through photographs to us and the sailors and workmen that we have been in touch with since this happened know this catamaran and know its markings have told us 100% this is our catamaran,” she said.
Reginald Robertson, 59, Anthony Murray, 58, and Jaryd Payne, 20, were sailing to Phuket, Thailand, in the catamaran Sunsail RC044-978 from Cape Town on December 14, 2014. They were delivering the yacht on behalf of Tui Marine, a leisure business based in Florida, in the US.
Last week, a Brazilian Navy patrol vessel, BNS Amazonas, which had been to Cape Town, sighted the overturned catamaran.
The families sent out an aircraft to search, but fuel limitations prevented them from searching further. River Air charter service donated its aircraft for the search and it spotted the catamaran. They reported to the NSRI, which sent its vessel to attach a satellite tracking beacon to the catamaran in case it drifted from where it had been sighted. The MRCC then sent a tug.
Coetzer said they were astonished that the catamaran had drifted so far.
“It is astonishing. We are still trying to process how this happened. It is always very hard because it comes with deep anguish and still unanswered questions as to what happened around and after January 18, last year.
“We have pictures that go through our heads all the time.”
She said the families needed to get to the hull to have it forensically examined.
“We will never have total closure because we will never know what happened at that time. It remains opinion and speculation, but what we are hoping for is answers. Our emotions are very high.”
Coetzer said they were full of heartache as they believed that there was no one on board.
“The NSRI divers did swim around it and they never saw anyone inside. That is very hard. But what we do hope is that the hull will tell a story that will help all sailors in the future, because we owe it to our three men to have a legacy that they can leave; the most powerful legacy would be a positive impact on sailing around the world, in particular working sailors, because these were working men and it was their job,” she said.
Coetzer said they appreciated all the support they had received throughout the journey, especially from the NSRI, which she said offered them world-class service. She also commended the power of social media which saw them being comforted and supported.
The Mercury