Fears grow over captain of yacht which set off from Plymouth in solo challenge race and was due to arrive in Ireland seven days ago
- Captain Duncan Lougee and his yacht The Minke departed Plymouth on June 18
- It was due to arrive in Baltimore, Ireland on June 22 but has been no contact
Fears are growing over the captain of a missing yacht that set off from Plymouth and was due to arrive in Ireland seven days ago.
The coastguard has issued a public appeal to help find captain Duncan Lougee of ‘The Minke’, which was due to arrive in Baltimore, Ireland, last Thursday and has now been missing for 11 days.
It had departed from Plymouth, Devon, just four days earlier on June 18 to make the 300-mile journey.
However, there has been no contact with the 25ft-long fibreglass vessel since it left.
HM Coastguard says that the skipper of the Minke was taking part in the single-handed Jester Challenge, with a plan to sail the route via the Isles of Scilly.
All other vessels in the challenge have arrived safely, and the Coastguard are seeking any information from the public about the disappearance.
The Minke is a folk boat with a white hull and white sails. The yacht’s sail number is FB597.
In a bid to solve the riddle, coastguards today issued a fresh appeal for anyone who might have seen the yacht.
It said ‘The Minke is a 25ft fibreglass folkboat with a white hull and white sails. Her sail number is FB597.
‘The skipper was taking part in the single-handed Jester Challenge with a plan to sail the route via the Isles of Scilly. All other vessels are accounted for.
‘HM Coastguard has issued regular broadcasts and liaised with the Irish Coastguard, UK police and the RNLI.’
‘If you have any information, please call the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre on 01326 317575.
‘We urge all water users to keep an eye out and repost this in local water user groups.’
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
