BREAKING NEWS Sunday 25 Sept: Missing yacht Golden Eagle arrives in Ireland 10 days late after massive NE Atlantic search. Oblivious crew were ‘sparing the batteries’ on the VHF.

Friday 23 September

The Irish Coast Guard is co-ordinating a major air-and-sea search,
involving its counterparts in Bermuda and Norway, as five naval vessels and aircraft including an Air Corps reconnaisance plane comb a 320km area off the South West coast of Ireland for a missing sloop.

Nothing has been heard from the Golden Eagle since it left Bermuda a month ago, sailing into an area of the Atlantic still churned by the vestiges of Hurricane Katia.

The 10m (33ft) yacht, crewed by a New Zealander and a Norwegian, both in their 60s and unnamed, was due at Crookhaven in Cork last week.

The Golden Eagle‘s EPIRB has not been activated and there is no indication as to the vessel’s fate. It is hoped that satellite imagery will reveal some clue.

Relatives of the Norwegian crew member alerted the authorities last weekend that the vessel, which would by now be almost out of supplies, was overdue.

_{Image: CASA CN235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, Óglaigh na Héirann}