Kiwi skippered Volvo60 seized by Iranians off America's Cup venue

by Richard Gladwell on 1 Dec 2009
Five crew members of a VOR60 have been captured and detained by Iran after their yacht strayed 500 metres into Iranian territorial waters late last week.

The yacht, the Kingdom of Bahrain, was sailing from Dubai, UAE, and strayed 500 metres into Iranian territorial near the island of Sirri, 45nm off the coast of United Arab Emirates. She was on a voyage from Bahrain to Dubai, and was in the vicinity of Ras al-Khaimah, proposed venue for the 2010 America's Cup.

Sirri Island is to the west of the nearest island, to the UAE coast, both islands are claimed by Iran and have a 12nm territorial limit.

The five sailors are believed to be Oliver Smith, 31, an experienced sailor from Southampton, as well as Sam Usher, Oliver Young, 21, from Saltash in Cornwall, Luke Porter, 21, from Weston-super-Mare and Dave Bloomer, a presenter on Radio Bahrain. Mr Porter is reported to have spoken to his father Charles yesterday.

The website for Sail Bahrain, owners of the yacht lists Nick Crabtree a New Zealander, as skipper. He was not believed to be aboard.

The Times of London reported: 'Sail Bahrain is backed by Team Pindar, a British yacht-racing team led by the Scarborough businessman Andrew Pindar, whose family owns Britain’s largest independent printers.

'Team Pindar said last night: 'On November 25, Sail Bahrain’s Kingdom of Bahrain ... racing yacht was stopped by Iranian navy vessels, as it was making its way from Bahrain to the start of the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race.

'The boat may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. The five crew members, all British nationals, are still in Iran. All are understood to be safe and well and their families have been informed.'

'Mark Turner the chief executive of the leading Cowes-based sail racing company OC Group, who is familiar with sailing in the Gulf, told The Times last night that the sailors on the Kingdom of Bahrain appeared to have been boarded twice by the Iranians. The first time they were allowed to go on their way; the second time they were detained.

Mr Turner said he had been informed that the crew had drifted in windless conditions into Iranian waters last Wednesday. They were then boarded by Iranian security forces who confiscated the yacht’s navigation computers. Once the Iranians were satisfied that the computers were harmless, they were returned to the boat and the crew was told they were free to go.

'At this point the sailors, who are described as 'delivery crew' and do not include any well known British racing yachtsmen, tried to start the boat’s engine but it broke down and they continued to drift on a flat sea.

'They were reported to have made contact with a shipping company in Dubai to try to arrange a tow but, before this was organised, the Iranians seem to have had a change of heart and re-boarded the yacht and seized it.

'Although the precise sequence of events remains unclear, it appears that the original decision by the Iranians to let the yacht continue on its passage to Dubai may have been overruled after its diplomatic value to Iran had been assessed.'

The Times adds that ' Iran has shown little tolerance for either civilian or military citizens of any unfriendly countries that mistakenly enter its territory. Three American hikers are in detention after straying over the border with Iraq several months ago.

Iran and Bahrain have long had an uneasy relationship, with recent tensions flaring over Iranian claims to the tiny Western-allied nation.'

is believed that the yacht was stopped twice by Iranians, and released on the first occasion, however once the Iranians had realised the diplomatic value of the capture, reboarded the yacht and rescued the crew.

The full Times report can be read http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6938055.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1!by_clicking_here

The island, and territorial waters off which Sail Bahrain was arrested is approximately 35nm from the UAE coast and close to the venue selected by Societe Nautique de Geneve for the 33rd America's Cup. Claims by the Challenger, Golden Gate Yacht Club that there were security risks to their yacht from the Iranians were completely dismissed as unfounded by the Swiss club, in various media statement and in New York Supreme Court Hearings.

As late as last week, SNG argued in Court that they had the right as Defender to select the venue, and were already well advanced with preparations to hold the regatta off Ras al Khaimah.

For their part the US team stated that a large trimaran bearing the US flag would be a high worth target for Iranians either as part of their military or desperadoes and the venue was a security risk for the US Challenger.

The seizure comes at a time of growing diplomatic tension in the area.