AFTER working non-stop to find a way to relocate the hull of the yacht that went missing a year ago, the families of the missing yachtsmen have managed to get an idea of the area of drift and an air search was conducted this morning, 22 January.
According to Nicole Payne, who posted on the Searching for Anthony, Reg and Jaryd three hours ago, with the support, offers, leads and suggestions that filtered through the Facebook page, they were able to arrange the air search. The search was funded by the families of the yachtsmen.
She wrote: “As we don’t have a second sighting yet, and therefore only have one coordinate to work with, there is no way to get an accurate drift. But we have an excellent team working with us on the ground, assisting with the drift patterns, as well the team in the air. This includes two men with a vast amount of experience in the aviation industry – one of them having been involved in the SA Coastguard operation for many years, assisting with sea and rescue operations, including that of the Tafelberg.
“We are making use of the two charts, which we received from various experienced sources, as well as other information as it comes in. It is important to note that the plane is not able to mark the hull but they will call in immediately with the co-ordinates should they have a positive sighting, and we will get a boat out immediately, led by the plane, to investigate and fit the hull with a satellite tracking device.
Another positive development is that NSRI have confirmed they have requested an image from their sat data provider, so we are hoping to have an extra set of ‘eyes’ over this part of the ocean.
Along with their GoFundMe campaign, the families are also working towards having their local fund up and running next week, pending the approval of their high court application. They said they will be taking all necessary steps as they receive information but, for now, are focusing on locating the hull again.
“We are so humbled by the amount of love, prayers, support and generous donations that have come in and are forever grateful. This has been a year of absolute devastation and heartache and, although we know that we run the risk of not getting an additional sighting of the hull this time around, we will not give up. With all the love and support we have, we will find it. We just have to. We owe it to Anthony, Reg, Jaryd, ourselves, the global sailing community and all of you out there to get a little closer to the closure we desperately need. Thank you all again,” wrote Payne.
Updates to follow.
