Search continues for body of sailor whose remains went down with sunken yacht near Stilbaai

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Search continues for body of sailor whose remains went down with sunken yacht near Stilbaai
Search continues for body of sailor whose remains went down with sunken yacht near Stilbaai

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Authorities are assessing all options to see if the body of a sailor, who was initially found dead on his yacht, can be recovered. The yacht sunk, with the sailor’s body still onboard, during a recovery operation near Stilbaai over the weekend.

The 60-year-old lone sailor who left Cape Town for Mossel Bay on Friday, 12 August, was found dead on the Panacea yacht after an extensive search and rescue operation over two days.

South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie said the police dive unit “is assessing the situation around the possible recovery of the body”.

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Southern Cape police had not commented at the time of publication.

It is understood the depth at which the yacht is lying – which Ramatjie estimates to be around 50 metres – could hamper diving efforts.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) launched a search for the man on Friday afternoon, when the yacht did not arrive in Mossel Bay after departing from Cape Town.

The sailor’s mother had sounded the alarm with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town after three days of no contact with the sailor, said Ramatjie.

MRCC Cape Town, out of concern, requested Telkom Maritime Radio to broadcast marine messages requesting vessels along the south coast between Cape Town and Mossel Bay to look out for, and report any sightings of, the yacht.

On Friday afternoon, the yacht was spotted by a ship and appeared to be adrift, prompting the launch of a search and rescue operation.

However, the operation was hampered by extremely rough sea conditions and was called off in the early hours of Saturday morning, after 10 hours of searching.

On Saturday afternoon, an air search resumed, and the yacht was located 30 nautical miles south-west of Stilbaai.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said:

Arrangements were made for the yacht to be towed to Stilbaai for police to recover the man’s body.

A first attempt was made on Saturday, but had to be abandoned due to bad weather.

On Sunday, an NSRI team attempted to tow the yacht, but during the operation, it took on water and sunk approximately 12 nautical miles from Mossel Bay.

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