North Sea search for missing yacht
Monday, 28 May 2007 10:35
The yacht was last contacted on Saturday evening
A major search is underway in the North Sea for a missing yacht which had been attempting to sail from Holland to the UK.
The Dutch Level Four boat has three people aboard and, having been due to arrive at Chatham in Kent at lunchtime yesterday, is yet to appear.
One of the yacht's crew is a 63-year-old woman. Another is a man aged over 63 while the final crew member is aged between 45 and 50 years old.
The yacht had sailed from Ijmuiden on Saturday morning with 19 other yachts but no communication has been received since radio contact was made at 20:00 BST yesterday evening.
Anthony Mayhew, Thames Coastguard watch manager, said: "We have now launched a full-scale search for this yacht and are appealing to the public for any information they may have, or indeed whether they have seen this vessel in a local marina."
Coastguard teams are patrolling the shoreline while lifeboats have been deployed out to sea. Fishing vessels have been asked to look out for the yacht, a nine-metre single-masted Verl 900, while Dutch police have also begun investigations in Ijmuiden.
Weather in the area is squally rain with force four winds.