Crewman of missing SA sailor off hook

Yachtsman Sean Terrys family is seeking answers

Henri du Plessis

STAFF WRITER

THE family of SA yachtsman Sean Terry, who was lost at sea near the Seychelles, may never know what had happened to him, after Seychelles police withdrew charges of negligence against Terry’s crewman and allowed him to leave the island group.

Terry, 48, and Austrian Stefan Pokorny departed from Chagos on June 18. A week later, on June 25, Terry’s yacht Finnegan arrived at Coëtivy, off the Seychelles. Only Pokorny was on board.

Pokorny claimed Terry had jumped overboard in a fit of rage. But the yacht’s log and two computers were missing and all safety equipment, such as a life buoy and a life raft, were still aboard.

There was also nothing to show that Pokorny had tried to get help from maritime rescue authorities and he hadn’t alerted authorities while still at sea.

“The [Terry] family is still waiting for the full report from the Seychelles police,” said spokeswoman Judith Middleton.

“They are finding it frustrating and hard to process the whole situation without clarity,” she said.

“They are not an aggressive, angry family; they were just hoping to really find out what happened. They believed if there was a hearing, they’d be able to get closer to the truth and to learn what had happened to Sean. But Pokorny has now gone home to Austria, after the police in the Seychelles had withdrawn the charges of negligence against him. It would have been a difficult case, with only one witness, anyway.”

Terry, who grew up in Cape Town and had both British and SA passports, was considered an experienced and capable sailor.

“The family was not concerned with criminal charges against Pokorny; they were not looking for vengeance. They just wanted to find out more in order to be able to better deal with Sean’s disappearance,” Middleton added.

“They are seeking legal advice to see if there is anything more they can do.”