‘Missing’ yacht drops anchor in Irish port

TWO crewmen on board a yacht at the centre of a major air and sea search off the west coast have been found safe and well.

The Norwegian-owned Golden Eagle pulled into the south Kerry fishing village of Portmagee yesterday afternoon, 10 days after it had been due to berth at Crookhaven, Co Cork.

The pair — skipper, Arvid Guttorm-Moe, 69, from Norway and Franis Cooper, 62, from New Zealand, were both in excellent health and unaware they had been at the centre of an extensive search operation.

Shortly after 2.45pm yesterday local ferry operator John Patrick Murphy alerted marine authorities that he had spotted a white and blue coloured yacht matching the description of the missing vessel.

Radio contact was established with the Golden Eagle by Valentia Coast Guard officers on duty James Francis Lynch and John O’Sullivan.

The 32ft vessel had slight damage to its sails and rigging after the two-man crew encountered difficult conditions in the early stages of their marathon journey, which saw them spend a total of 36 days and nights at sea.

Mr Cooper said yesterday that they initially set off from the Caribbean island of Saint Thomas on August 4 and reached Bermuda before they embarked on the second leg of their journey to Cork on August 21.

The delayed crossing was being attributed yesterday to the fact that they had little or no wind to take advantage of during the earlier part of their sailing, and that they also encountered some very testing weather conditions in the Atlantic, which was swelled by Hurricane Katia.

“We were forced to use up a significant amount of diesel to get into favourable wind conditions and we sailed to Ireland on a shortened rig,” said a visibly tired Mr Cooper.

“We had no idea at all that they were searching for us. We only became aware of it when we got here.”

The men had a small hand-held radio, which they did not use in order to spare battery life in case of emergency.

Coastguard services in Bermuda and Ireland became concerned when the yacht failed to arrive, as scheduled, in Cork on September 15. It was initially feared it was caught in the hurricane and the men’s families expressed fears for their safety.

A massive air and sea search, involving the Coast Guard, the Navy and the Air Corps, failed to locate the vessel and there was great relief when the crew was spotted by the alert ferry operator yesterday.

The yacht sailed into Portmagee Harbour and dropped anchor shortly after 3pm.

“Both men on board were totally oblivious to the search and rescue operation and they are both in perfect health. They are now enjoying the bright lights of Portmagee,” said Valentia Coast Guard officer John O’Sullivan.

The crewmen were last night bemused by the significant media attention that greeted them on their arrival in Kerry and they were joined by locals who toasted their safe crossing at the local Moorings bar and restaurant.