'Ghost yacht' crew search halted

[UM-Bot]

Australian authorities have ended their search for the crew of a yacht found off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, saying their fate remains a mystery. The Kaz II was found with its engine running and a table laid for dinner. Rescuers said that the craft had probably been drifting since last Sunday, making it unlikely that any of the three crew could have survived.

One theory is that members of the three-man crew fell overboard in bad weather conditions.

View: Full Article | Source: BBC News

[money=power]

did they all jump ship in a mass suicide and get eaten by sharks??? another mystery that cant be solved, great, gonna drive me bonkers

Edited April 23, 2007 by money=power

[Ghost Ship]

Since the raft is missing they must have gone away in the raft. Why? It doesnt seem like they were preparing to leave.

[:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:]

Since the raft is missing they must have gone away in the raft. Why? It doesnt seem like they were preparing to leave.

I'm putting my money on a mafia related scene.

[HowdyDoo]

There is evidence that they are in the raft, so why give up the search because "men couldn't survive this long in the water." Evidence is that they AREN'T in the water. I just don't understand.

[ToxicLogic]

Alien Abduction!! Lol! I don't have a clue what could've happened to them. But I do agree w/HowdyDoo. If they took the raft, why did they stop looking for them? Thats wierd that they had the table all set and everything was running. I guess we will never know.

[annalaura]

In my opinion, is that, I belive the men drowned. Sometimes its hard for drowned men to float to the surface. It may take time. Or the sharks ate them. (horrible) but I believe that when they died. They did not really know they had. So their ghost spirits found their way back to the ship. A spirit body can eat, (proof in the scriptures, when Abraham had to entertain three hevenly visitors. And he told his wife to prepare food for them.

Well I believe these spirit ghosts that were drowned. They do have a body, but its made different then ours. And they can move things. And do alot of things. That is why the ship was sailing. And the lap computer was running. And there was a table of food to eat. (my granfather took his camera down from the closet, it was out of its case. Being looked at. Because in the morning I would see this camera was off the shelf. And I know it was my grandfather's.

[Bill Hill]

There is evidence that they are in the raft, so why give up the search because "men couldn't survive this long in the water." Evidence is that they AREN'T in the water. I just don't understand.

Good point, I guess everyone love a mystery.

[Kazahel]

I thought they said that the boat wasnt fitted with a raft which is why they also called off the search. I'm not sure but I thought I read that somewhere.

But I'm pretty sure thats the same boat I dreamt of the other night hey. Because I remember jumping over the front railing after getting close enough to the shore, but because it was high I fell over when I landed, which is why I rolled around like a cat.

So I think something like my dream happened.. Link... because of the timing and a few things.. like in my dream the guy who was dying was an older guy more like my dads age.. so things like that fit in.

So yeah.. makes me wonder.

[Jackssa]

similar to the other incident in the past. was queen marry II or smth, whereby everyone in the steam ship dissapear w/o a trace. and the only thing left behind is a drop of blood and a dagger. and ya, everything was in perfect order too

[The Unseen]

I thought they said that the boat wasnt fitted with a raft which is why they also called off the search. I'm not sure but I thought I read that somewhere.

But I'm pretty sure thats the same boat I dreamt of the other night hey. Because I remember jumping over the front railing after getting close enough to the shore, but because it was high I fell over when I landed, which is why I rolled around like a cat.

So I think something like my dream happened.. Link... because of the timing and a few things.. like in my dream the guy who was dying was an older guy more like my dads age.. so things like that fit in.

So yeah.. makes me wonder.

I have heard of dreams like that,And some how I believe you heard the crys' of their spirit while you were in your sleep,kinda freaky

[maggie_13]

seems like another case of Mary Celeste. BUt this time it's yacht rather than ship. interesting.

[The Skeptic Eric Raven]

I think simple piracy. When I get a boat in the next couple of years, I will have an assualt rifle packed in it.

[ships-cat]

I think simple piracy. When I get a boat in the next couple of years, I will have an assualt rifle packed in it.

Noooo - not Pircacy Ericraven2003 - pirates would have stolen stuff from the boat. (there was a laptop in plain view, navigation equipment etc). However, it does raise the question as to why the fenders where deployed - you would normaly only use these if you where mooring-up to another ship (or a dock).

This story is really really strange. I can only assume that the three (fairly experienced) sailors did something VERY dumb. One theory is that one of the three fell overboard, and the other two then piled into the rubber dingy to 'rescue' him, and where subsequently unable to return to the yacht. I find this hard to understand..... it's contrary to all their training. They would have hit the MOB button on the GPS and manouvered the yacht closer to the 'overboardee' under engine power, with one crewmember at the controls at all time.

Also, why did they deploy the fenders ?

And what's with the 'ripped sail' ? A strong (savage) gust of wind might have ripped the sail once the boat was abandoned, but that would make it heel around. You'd think all of the cutlery/plates etc would have fallen off the dining table (to say nothing of the stuff on the chart table - e.g. pens, protractors etc) at this point. But apparantly this was not the case - everything was in it's correct place.

Completely baffling at this stage..

Meow Purr.

Edited April 25, 2007 by ships-cat

[rassy]

They found another 'ghost ship'... not much info about it, though....

Second "ghost ship" found off Queensland coast

23rd April 2007, 17:45 WST

Another unmanned vessel has been discovered floating off the coast of Queensland.

The 6m barnacle-encrusted fibreglass boat, which was yesterday spotted in waters off the Sunshine Coast, is the second mystery vessel to be found in Queensland waters in less than a week.

Fisherman spotted the second boat about 30km off the coast of Caloundra.

The boat was found upturned and adrift, with the keys still in the ignition and a tank full of fuel.

Fishing gear and scuba diving equipment were retrieved from the vessel and both outboard motors were still intact.

Police are now searching for the owners of the boat, which is registered in Noumea.

The boat is believed to have been adrift for several months, and authorities believe it may have simply broken free from its moorings.

The discovery comes just one day after authorities called off the search for three Perth men missing from a yacht found unmanned and adrift last Wednesday about 160km off Townsville.

The three crew members - skipper Des Batten, 56, and brothers Peter and James Tunstead, aged 69 and 63, all from Perth - went missing some time after their 9.8-metre catamaran, KAZ II, left Shute Harbour at Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays the previous weekend.

Authorities called off the search yesterday, but the trio's family members have refused to give up hope and spent today unsuccessfully searching Airlie Beach and its surrounding islands.

There is a range of theories about what happened to the men.

One is that they fell overboard in rough seas.

Another is that another vessel came alongside and they boarded it, either willingly or unwillingly, as if they had been attacked by pirates.

Family members are hopeful the trio managed to swim to a nearby island and are awaiting rescue.

"That's our hope. That's where we're going to concentrate today," James Tunstead's son Shane Webber told ABC radio.

"Maybe they've all got knocked over by the boom, or something happened at the back of the boat when they were fishing because we know they were fishing at the time by video footage we've seen from the Townsville police.

"That's about the only theories we can come up with at the moment."

SOURCE

[ships-cat]

23rd April 2007, 17:45 WST

There is a range of theories about what happened to the men.

One is that they fell overboard in rough seas.

Another is that another vessel came alongside and they boarded it, either willingly or unwillingly, as if they had been attacked by pirates.

Family members are hopeful the trio managed to swim to a nearby island and are awaiting rescue.

"That's our hope. That's where we're going to concentrate today," James Tunstead's son Shane Webber told ABC radio.

"Maybe they've all got knocked over by the boom, or something happened at the back of the boat when they were fishing because we know they were fishing at the time by video footage we've seen from the Townsville police.

"That's about the only theories we can come up with at the moment."

SOURCE

Note - the quote above relates to the FIRST mystery boat, not the second.

Non of these explanations really hold water. The pirate attack seems improbable: surely pirates would have looted the boat ? (there was a laptop on open display, for example).

If they where fishing, why was the engine turned on, and more importantly, why where the fenders deployed ? For that matter, if they where fishing, they would surely have furled the sails first. Or turned the engines off. A catameran like that doesn't have a HUGE fuel tank, so they wouldn't have left the engines idling whillst they fished.

there are lots of other factors as well (see earlier post).

Meow Purr.

[Michelle]

My guess would be they were meeting another boat to make a huge drug or firearms deal. People that make the kind of money they do wouldn't have worried about a laptop or anything else that could be traced back to them.