Britons missing after yacht ‘capsizes’
Four Britons are missing at sea amid fears that their yacht capsized.
The crew members were named as Andrew Bridge, 21, Paul Goslin, 56, Steve Warren, 52, and James Male, 23. Contact was lost with the yachtsmen in the early hours of Friday while they were diverting to the Azores as they sailed to the UK from a regatta in the Caribbean.
The crew of the Cheeki Rafiki 40ft performance racer/cruiser yacht ran into difficulties on Thursday while returning from Antigua Sailing Week.
Clockwise from top left: Steve Warren, Andrew Bridge, Paul Goslin and James Male
US and Canadian aircraft and merchant vessels looked for them throughout Friday and Saturday but have now called off the search, according to British yacht training and charter firm Stormforce Coaching.
One merchant vessel is understood to be still looking and the families of the missing yachtsmen have asked the US coastguard to resume searching.
‘Lost contact’
Stormforce director Doug Innes said: “The yacht Cheeki Rafiki, a Beneteau First 40.7, was on passage from the Caribbean to the UK with a crew of four yachtsmen. On Thursday she started taking on water.
“We were in contact with the skipper and at the time the yacht and crew were keeping the situation stable. They had not been able to ascertain where the water ingress was from and were diverting to the Azores.
“Unfortunately we lost contact during the early hours of Friday morning and we believe it is possible the crew abandoned to the life raft.
Above: the missing yacht – Cheeki Rafiki
“Search and rescue authorities were mobilised and a mixture of Canadian and US aircraft along with merchant vessels searched throughout Friday and Saturday.
“Although the search efforts co-ordinated by Boston were exceptional we are devastated that the search has now been called off so soon.
“Our thoughts are with the four yachtsmen and their families and we hope and pray for them all.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are aware of a missing yacht off the East Coast of the USA with four British nationals on board.
“We are in contact with the US Coastguard and have offered consular assistance to the families”.
All three were described as “very experienced offshore yachtsmen”, but only Mr Bridge was being paid by Stormforce for his role on the yacht.