Crowdsourcing search keeps missing yachtsmen’s families hopeful

THE families of three South African men who have been missing at sea for more than two months are hopeful that their loved ones may be found following a surge in interest in the satellite crowdsourcing platform, Tomnod.

This was sparked by an object that was tagged by multiple members of the Lost Catamaran and Crew at Sea campaign on 24 March.

In a communication to a tagger, Tomnod described the object as having the ‘potential to be a viable crowd point, possibly relating to the missing catamaran’, and has confirmed that ‘analysis of the object is underway’.

But Robertson’s daughter, Storme Robertson, wrote on the Facebook page, Searching for Anthony, Reg & Jaryd, that the object has since been deemed possible debris and not related to the missing catamaran.

The missing Leopard 44 catamaran left Cape Town harbour on 14 December and was was being delivered to Phuket, Thailand by Skipper, Anthony Murray (58), formerly from Cowies Hill, and two crew members, Reginald (Reg) Robertson (60) and Jaryd Payne (20).

“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is aware of the coordinates of the potential tag and has called for more information from Tomnod before it informs the families of its position on the object,” said Murray’s family spokesperson and sister-in-law, Diane Coetzer.

Coetzer said since the tag surfaced on the dedicated Facebook group, Searching for Anthony, Reg & Jaryd on 24 March, the numbers of taggers has risen to well over 30 000 and the group has grown to more than 3 300 members.

“The global sailing community has upped its involvement in the search, with members encouraging yachtspeople and other maritime organisations to join. Members of the Facebook group are also actively doing what they can to spread the news of the search, including contacting shipping and other maritime companies, and much more,” Coetzer added.

She said Tomnod added more images to the campaign, drawn from an 18 March pass by its satellites over the area of interest.

“With a growing Tomnod and Facebook group community, it means even more eyes will be on the ocean through the digital platform, increasing the chance of locating the catamaran and its crew,” she said.

When on the Tomnod website, people are asked to tag objects as either ‘ship/boat’, ‘life raft’ or ‘other’ in images. The crowdsourcing theory operates on the belief that untrained observers who pick the same target can be as accurate as experts. Anyone with access to a computer and the internet can join the online search party.

Previous Tomnod campaigns include the 2.3 million internet users who helped scan more than 24 000 square kilometres of sea to search for Malaysian Airlines flight, MH370.

Tomnod has also been used for several incidents involving vessels, including the November 2013 search for the schooner Nina in the Tasman Sea, as well as the August 2014 search for the Tunante II off the coast of Brazil, which successfully resulted in locating the boat.

The families have been informed that AMSA approached the Maritime Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) Cape Town to assume coordination for the incident at the beginning of April. Coetzer said it should be noted that the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) has not been deployed.

The yacht was officially carrying enough supplies for 65 days, and has now been at sea for more than three months. The three families are urging all South Africans and people around the world to join the online Lost Catamaran & Crew At Sea Tomnod search party by visiting www.tomnod.com.