Hopes fade for Ghost ship crew

by Sail-World on 22 Apr 2007 The mystery deepens but the air search for three West Australian sailors who it seems disappeared from a catamaran found drifting off the Queensland coast a week ago, has been called off, although two search vessels are continuing their sweep of the area.

The three sailors, brothers Peter and James Tunstead, aged 69 and 63, with skipper Des Batten, 56 left Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays heading north on what was to be a two month trip around Australia's top end and down the West Australian coast.

The vessel, the 11 metre catamaran Kaz II, was found abandoned and adrift, 75 miles off Townsville on the Great Barrier Reef on Wednesday, its headsail battered and torn, with engine running in neutral, its computers, GPS navigation system running and its radio on and food on the table.

Investigators recovered the vessel's GPS and navigation system on Friday and determined from the track that no one had been steering the boat since Sunday, not long after the men set out.

Queensland Police superintendent Roy Wall said; 'This indicates to us that the men may have been missing from the boat since Sunday.' As a result the search area was condensed on Saturday to the relatively small area north of Airlie Beach and Bowen.

Marine authorities towed the Kaz II back to shore arriving on Friday night and forensic inspectors spent yesterday looking for clues.

After a number of conflicting reports, its has been confirmed that the vessel had no life raft and her dinghy was found on board the catamaran, along with its emergency beacon and three life jackets.

The vessel has three fenders deployed on the port side.

Wall said he believed the men had 'ended up in the water,' but Queensland police are still investigating a number of theories, although they did not suspect foul play.

To add to the mystery, seas were not rough at the time of the men's disappearance. Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Geoff Doueal told Mackay's Daily Mercury that said although there had been strong wind warnings between Airlie Beach and Townsville the previous week, seas had calmed to 20 knots by the time the crew set sail on Sunday and remained between 15 and 20 knots throughout the week.

Emergency Management Queensland helicopter rescue crewman Phil Livingstone told Adelaide's Sunday Mail clothes had been found neatly placed on the rear deck, suggesting the men may have gone for a swim.

'There was neatly placed shorts, sunglasses, cap, sitting on the back deck, unruffled like they'd gone for a swim,' Mr Livingstone said.

He said alongside the clothing was a fishing rod with its line in the water. The only thing out of place on the Kaz II was its badly ripped sail.

Seasoned yachties speculated the trio could have been the victims of piracy. 'You ever see the movie Dead Calm? That was filmed here in the Whitsundays,' said Airlie Beach marine identity Dan Van Blarcom, who has had 40 years experience on the water.

Mr Van Blarcom worked on the 1989 ocean-bound thriller, in which a psychopath attacks a couple on their becalmed yacht. He said wild theories were being thrown around as many locals expressed doubt about a simple ocean mishap.

Fenders tied off the side of the boat, which was under sail, puzzled boaties, who said they were only left out if a boat was about to be tied up to a wharf or alongside another boat. But sails were usually not left up in those circumstances.

Skipper of Maxi Ragamuffin George Canfield, who has been sailing in the Whitsundays since 1988, said he would not rule out piracy.

'I've worked all around the world on boats and you never knock the theory out,' he said. 'I wouldn't be surprised. With the fenders, it's as if someone's come alongside. But you'd think they would have taken the GPS and computer unless they had a barrel-load of cash on board. Pirates will gut a boat.'

The Mackay Mercury recorded that this the fourth time in six months sailors have gone missing in waters between Mackay and Townsville.

In November last year a 60-year-old yachtie was declared missing, presumed dead, after his 34-foot yacht was found floating off Hay Point. In January, a 60-year-old Sunshine Coast man dived for an anchor near St Bees Island and never surfaced and 44-year-old fisherman Peter Neven went missing near Bowen in March.