Search for missing crew of yacht that washed up in North Yorkshire
Written by News on 16/05/2017
A search is under way after a small yacht was found run aground in North Yorkshire with no sign of its two-person crew.
The boat, called Don’t Panic, was found off Scarborough’s West Pier early on Tuesday morning.
The yacht left the resort the previous evening at about 5.30pm with two people believed to be on board.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said an extensive sea and coast search was under way.
The search was launched after attempts to contact the boat’s owner Paul Rhodes failed.
Mike Puplett from UK Coastguard said: "Our primary concern is obviously to find this crew.
"If you know where they are or if you are that crew, please let us know. We just need to know that you are safe."
Coastguard rescue teams from Scarborough and Burniston were launched to search the shore and lifeboats from Scarborough and a helicopter from Humberside are searching the sea.
A spokesman for Scarborough RNLI said: "No-one was on the yacht, which was boarded and towed back to the harbour by the Shannon all-weather lifeboat, which had a crew of five.
"The inshore lifeboat (ILB) and coastguards searched several miles of shoreline for the yacht crew, assisted by the Coastguard’s Sikorsky search-and-rescue helicopter. The police were also involved in the search."
This is not the first time the boat has got into difficulties.
Don’t Panic had to be rescued by a lifeboat in June last year when its engine failed and the skipper called 999.
In that instance the yacht was found a mile and a half east of Scarborough harbour.
The RNLI said that on that occasion the vessel was found with no lights, no VHF radio, no GPS, and no flares, prompting a warning to other sailors.
(c) Sky News 2017: Search for missing crew of yacht that washed up in North Yorkshire
