AUSTRALIA:The table was set for dinner, the engine was ticking over and all was more or less as it should have been on board the Kaz II catamaran as it idled in calm waters off the Great Barrier Reef. All except one thing: there was no crew.
Rescue teams were searching the waters off the coast of northeast Queensland yesterday for three middle-aged men who apparently vanished from the 12-metre (40ft) yacht as it cruised north of the beautiful Whitsunday islands.
Skipper Derek Batten (56) and his neighbours Peter (69) and James Tunstead (63) had picked up the vessel last Sunday at the start of what was meant to be a two-month trip of a lifetime from Queensland back to their home state of Western Australia on the other side of the continent.
But somehow, and apparently quite suddenly, the men became separated from their vessel. Rescuers who boarded the craft after it was spotted drifting with no signs of life aboard said they were puzzled because "everything appeared normal".
"It looked like the boat had been recently abandoned. The engine was still running in neutral [ but] one of the sails had been damaged," said Jon Hall, spokesman for Emergency Management Queensland.
"There was a laptop computer on board and running with power, the computers on board were running, all of their clothing was still there. The table was actually set for a meal with food and cutlery in place. The radio was working, the GPS was working and things below deck were normal except for the absence of crew." Three life jackets and survival equipment, including an emergency beacon, were found on board, but no life rafts. It is not known if the boat had a dinghy for going ashore.
The boat's GPS satellite system is being analysed for clues; it is hoped it may pinpoint the spot at which the men left the craft. Computers, maps, diaries and other documents have also been taken away for examination. Ten aircraft, two helicopters, coastguard and volunteer rescue boats have been searching an area of 700 nautical square miles . - (Guardian service)