The captain of ARC Europe yacht Malisi made the discovery after they joined the search earlier in the week
Debris has been found in the Atlantic near where the missing yacht Cheeki Rafiki disappeared last Friday.
The captain of ARC Europe yacht Malisi made the discovery after joining the search for the British crew earlier in the week.
Skipper Patrick Michael sighted a plank of wood and a plastic board floating in the water and reported the location and the time they were spotted to the US Coast Guard.
It’s not yet clear as to whether the debris that was spotted had come from the missing yacht. If it is proved to be a part of the Cheeki Rafiki it will confirm that rescue crews are searching in the right area.
This latest development comes after the US Coastguard announced it would resume the search for Paul Goslin, Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren and James Male on Tuesday.
The four men went missing on Friday after Stormforce Coaching, the company that owns the yacht, lost contact with the crew shortly before receiving signals from two activated Personal Locator Beacons (PLB).
Writing on the YBW forum, Stormforce Coaching’s Doug Innes said: “The first PLB stopped transmitting, the second one was switched on
shortly after. As these are PLBs worn on your life jacket, this indicates two people working together. These devices can only be activated manually
and don’t work in the water.
“Its not 100% conclusive but the pattern of the PLBs indicates multiple
crew together in a raft, following their training, working together,
maximising their resources and thinking clearly, the most likely
scenario.”
The crew, who were originally heading for Southampton following Antigua Sailing Week, diverted their course to the Azores after their vessel began taking on water on Thursday.
Family and friends of the missing yachtsmen remain hopeful that the group will be found but, despite thousands of square miles having already been searched, there have been no sightings of the crew.
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