Durban -
The families of three yachtsmen, including a Durban man and a Capetonian crewman who have been missing at sea for more than a month are desperately praying for their safe arrival after the yacht was reported overdue at its Thailand destination.
The three men – two seasoned yachtsmen, skipper Anthony Murray, 58, and 59-year-old Reginald “Reg” Robertson – a member of the Royal Natal Yacht Club – were accompanied by first time sailor 20-year-old Capetonian Jaryd Payne, on the delivery of the catamaran Sunsail RC044-978 from Cape Town to Phuket, Thailand.
The yacht was due to reach its destination on February 2.
“We are praying,” said an anguished Lisa Green, Payne’s mother, on Monday. “I believe in God and that a miracle is possible. I have a prayer group that prays with me. It is all we can do.
“We are praying for their safe return; we are desperate for them to come back,” she said struggling to hold back the tears.
Green, a schoolteacher, said she was trying to remain strong and has continued to teach as she prays for the return of the men.
“I just want him home… when he said he wanted to go I sent him a message that said ‘if ever you change your mind, you can always come home’ and he replied ‘the show goes on’,” she said.
Green last had contact with her son on January 15 and said he had been texting her once a week via the satellite phone.
“It’s a nightmare, we just want to know where they are,” she said.
The three families have now called for public participation in a satellite-based online search.
The trio were last heard of on January 18 by satellite telephone when one of the men called families and friends – they were 2 190 nautical miles north-northwest of Perth, Australia at the time.
The men had sufficient food aboard to last them until February 26. They left Cape Town on December 14.
It is known the yacht was in the vicinity of a tropical cyclone, Bansi, which had caused damage in Mauritius, at the time. But skipper Murray took evasive action, sailing southward to avoid the cyclone days before contact was lost.
In a statement issued by the families on Monday, they said it was not known whether the yacht was damaged by the cyclone.
The families reported the boat overdue to maritime authorities and have engaged experienced Cape Town yachtsman, Matthew Thomas, as adviser.
Thomas helped co-ordinate the search for the Moquini, a yacht that went missing during the 2005 Mauritius to Durban yacht race. Moquini was later found drifting off the Transkei coast, her crew lost.
“We are looking for a needle in a haystack,” Thomas said.
“The Australian Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre is deeply involved with this search, but they have worked out the search area is about the size of California.
“The families are obviously experiencing huge anguish. The communication stopped, the boat is not in Phuket and there is no word.
“The one positive thing is that the Epirb (emergency position-indicating radio beacon) has not been triggered. That may mean it was not prepared, but the skipper is very experienced and I do not think he would have neglected to prepare it unless things went wrong very quickly.
“It is actually a two-month voyage, so who knows, maybe they are close to their destination. At this point we have to stay positive.”
Thomas said people could join the Facebook group “Searching for Anthony Reg and Jaryd” where they could put pressure on satellite imagery companies to raise awareness about the missing trio.
The delivery was on behalf of Tui Marine, a leader in the world maritime leisure business based in Florida in the US, with representatives in Cape Town.
Murray has more than 25 years’ experience at sea, including several catamaran and other yacht deliveries to destinations such as Abu Dhabi, China, Australia, the Caribbean and the US. – Additional reporting Sapa