14 July, 2008

TWO Faroese yachtsmen were found safe and well after a huge air and sea search over the weekend around Shetland, leaving coastguard officers confused about how they evaded detection for so long.

The two men on board the 31 foot Moen motor yacht Nina had set off with a fellow yacht on Thursday afternoon from Suderoy Bank, on Faroe, aiming to reach Foula by Friday night.

When the sister vessel Gerd reached Foula it was too rough to enter the small harbour due to the north easterly winds, so they carried on to Scalloway.

On Saturday the two crew of the Gerd contacted Shetland coastguard having heard nothing from their colleagues. However they expressed little concern for the 58 year old skipper and his mate who had travelled this route many times.

The coastguard made several phone calls around ports and harbours where they might have been seen, and contacted the boat by mobile phone and radio without response.

Having made a pan pan broadcast to other boats which might have seen them and contacted Torshavn coastguard, a Nimrod was scrambled from RAF Kinloss at 6pm, almost three hours after the first alert.

While the Nimrod tracked the route from Foula back to Faroe, Shetland coastguard helicopter Rescue 102 made a close search of the islands’ western coastal waters.

By 6.30pm the emergency was raised to full Mayday involving Aberdeen coastguard and oil and gas installations in the area.

At 8.40pm the Torshavn coastguard called their Lerwick colleagues to say they had received a mobile phone call from the missing vessel, which was one hour from Scalloway and heading for port with both crew safe and well.

Shetland coastguard watch manager Katrina Hampson said: “We are delighted that the yacht was located with the two Faroese gentlemen safe and well on board, but frankly we are a little perplexed that such a major search seemed to pass them by.

“Urgency calls to their mobiles, radio and their next of kin produced no results. We are intending to go to Scalloway and meet them and to ensure they are aware of the need to keep an ear on the distress channel at all times.”