Update: Sean Terry - Missing skipper of Yacht Finnegan

It is now just over one month since we received the devastating news that Sean had been lost overboard. We haven't done an update in some time because we don't have any news but we do check Sean's facebook page every day for your comments, messages and suggestions.

We said from the beginning that we would leave no stone unturned in trying to find out what happened to Sean and we are all busy working on this. We have far more questions than answers at this stage and we are still looking for ANY information that might help, no matter how insignificant it might seem. We would also like to make contact with ANY YACHTS THAT WERE IN SRI LANKA BETWEEN THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH AND 28TH APRIL 2012 AND WHO MIGHT HAVE SEEN SEAN OR STEFAN (S/Y FINNEGAN) WHILE THEY WERE THERE.

We would like to thank each and every one of you again for your messages, suggestions and continued support, especially those of you who have gone out of your way to provide us with information and to help us spread the word. We are so grateful to you all.

PLEASE SHARE THIS - With thanks, the Terry Family x

Update: Sean Terry - Missing skipper of Yacht Finnegan

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED TODAY: 4 August 2012


STEFAN POKORNY CHARGED ON TWO ACCOUNTS OF NEGLIGENCE.

The Terry family in Cape Town were notified today that at the court hearing this morning in the Seychelles, Stefan Pokorny was charged under two articles of Seychelles law to do with negligence. (Details of the negligence cases have not yet been clarified to the family) They were told that in two weeks Pokorny will enter his plea and a trial date will be set.

"We are still trying to come to terms with the devastating loss of Sean. We have never believed that he jumped overboard and the family is encouraged by the court's decision today. We are extremely grateful to Superintendent Marie of the Seychelles police and are hopeful that we will, in time, be provided with the answers we need". said Terry’s sister.

31 July 202 - MEDIA INACCURACIES

The Terry family would like to state that we have released ONLY two press releases, both of which are on this face book page, and both of which contain only the facts as we know them. There have been inaccuracies reported in the media. Please note the following:

Stefan Pokorny has NOT been charged. He has been remanded in custody while the investigation is underway.

We do NOT know yet whether the 'man overboard' button had been pushed, we are waiting for police reports to establish this.

The family would not expect Stefan to dive overboard to save Sean, we do not understand however why the life ring, dinghy and any other life saving devices are still on board.

As far as we are aware the satellite phone on board Finnegan was NOT in use, there WAS however SSB and VHF radio and an MOB button, we don't know yet if the MOB button was activated.

We have had NO conclusive reports re the weather in the area on the night of 22 June 2012.

The family dismiss any claims that Sean jumped overboard as being "completely ridiculous and out of the question, anyone who knows Sean or who has ever sailed with him will agree"

Finnegan was NOT headed for the Seychelles, their destination when they set off from Chagos was Madagascar.

Our goal is to find out what happened to Sean and to understand why it happened.

With thanks - The Terry family

26 July 202 - UPDATE: MOB COORDINATES


This is an extremely emotional and difficult time for us all. The police investigation continues and we have to wait for answers.

We have received information that Sean went overboard sometime during the night of 22 June 2012. The MOB coordinates are S07 degrees 56,313 E059 degrees 52,05. We have contacted MRCC Seychelles with this information as well as shipping comp
anies and ship tracking services.

We are trying to establish if there were any vessels in the area at that time (or on the 23rd and 24th June) that might have picked up any signals from S/Y Finnegan. We are also looking for weather conditions in the area for the night of 22 June.

Family members remain in the Seychelles to assist the police with their investigation. We are looking for answers and we will not stop until we have them.

If anyone can help or has contacts with organisations or companies that can help please let us know.

PLEASE SHARE THIS.

Our very sincere thanks again to all of you for your continued support and assistance - the Terry family.

Update: Sean Terry - Skipper of yacht Finnegan missing at sea.

(Click on image for larger view.)

FACTS and POSSIBILITIES - Saturday 21 July 2012 18h00 SAST

For those of you who have the necessary skills to help us locate Sean, here are the facts we have from the time Sean left Chagos:

1. 14 June - S/Y Finnegan (with Sean and crew member on board) left Chagos together with S/Y Alice, both headed for Madagascar.

2. We know Sean's intended waypoints

1- 09°54,42 S 59°59,10 E

2- 11°28,95 S 55°17,64 E

3- 11°38,46 S 49°22,84 E

3. 18 June - the last contact (VHF) that we know of was made with S/Y Alice 07°56,39 S 65°52,28 E (Max 30 NM radius)

4. 25 June - Finnegan arrived Coetivy Island with only the crew member on board, Sean was reported missing overboard.

On 20th June S/Y Alice was forced to change course 08°44,94 S 61°58,27 E and to pass north of the Saya de Malha Bank to get shelter from the wind.

We don't know if Sean took the same action as S/Y Alice or if he stuck to his planned route which would have taken them within reach of Agalega Islands.

The conversations we have had point to a possible MOB date of approximately 3 days before arrival in Coetivy ie 22 June.

WE NEED HELP. We are asking anyone who can provide any information at all including weather conditions, vessels in the area, radio contact etc to contact us.

Again, we thank you ALL for your continued support - the Terry Family.

UPDATE - 18 July 2012 09h00 SAST

Hello everyone, after making contact with S/Y Alice we have received some very useful information from them, this includes co-ordinates and last known radio contact with Sean on S/Y Finnegan. We ask you please to continue to help us with our search. As always any ideas and input are greatly appreciated. PLEASE SHARE THIS POST. Thank you again for all your prayers, thoughts and support, the Terry family.

We are extremely moved by the support and input we have received from all of you, it is helping us to cope in this very difficult time. We understand the desire for more facts, unfortunately we can only tell you what we know and because this is under investigation we do not have access to any information. We do now know Sean's three intended waypoints from Chagos to Madagascar.

1- 09°54,42 S
59°59,10 E

2- 11°28,95 S
55°17,64 E

3- 11°38,46 S
49°22,84 E

Please continue to share the page.

With love and gratitude
the Terry family

Update: 17 July 2012 19h54 SAST

Hi everyone, unfortunately we have no new information to share with you today. We still have more questions than answers but we are working around the clock to resolve this. This is a terrible situation for us all and it is beyond frustrating. We are grateful to you all for your input and support, we just want to know what happened and so we ask that you continue to share - with Thanks, the Terry family.

PLEASE, if you have any information at all, if you have had any contact with Sean in the past 3 months, let us know as soon as possible. Thank you very much, the Terry family.

More info and images: https://www.facebook.com/SeanTerryMissingSkipperYachtFinnegan

Drifting fishermen die after luxury cruise liner sails past but doesn't stop

This March 10, 2012 photo provided by Jeff Gilligan, a passenger of the American-based cruise ship Star Princess, shows a fishing vessel adrift in the Pacific Ocean off the Galapagos Islands.
Jeff Gilligan/AP Photo

Dying men on a disabled fishing boat were left drifting, despite the close passage of a huge cruise ship that didn’t stop even after its crew was alerted by anxious passengers who saw frantic signalling from the tiny craft, according to the survivor and those who spotted him.

Birders aboard the Star Princess say they alerted members of the ship's crew about the plight of the tiny vessel, but the huge, white-hulled liner never slowed.

Princess Cruises, owned by Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, admitted a breakdown in crew communications and claims the captain was never told.

In a statement late Thursday, the cruise line, said: "There appeared to be a breakdown in communication in relaying the passenger's concern. Neither Captain Edward Perrin nor the officer of the watch were notified."

Princess had earlier claimed the ship didn't stop because officers believed the fishermen were happily waving because the vessel shifted course to avoid their nets.

On Thursday, it said. "Captain Perrin is devastated that he is being accused of knowingly turning his back on people in distress."

For Adrian Vasquez, sole survivor of the drifting boat, the joy over near-certain rescue as the Star Princess sailed closer and closer turned to despair as it sailed on past.

He said one of his fellow fishermen died hours after the ship passed and the other five days later. He was eventually rescued by Ecuadorians near the Galapagos Islands on March 28 after a month adrift and two weeks after seeing the Star Princess.

The grim sea saga may be another blow to the reputation of Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s biggest cruise company. One of Carnival’s biggest and newest ships – the Costa Concordia – sank off Italy on Jan. 13 after its captain misjudged a daringly close pass to ‘salute’ Isola del Giglio. More than 30 of the 4,000-plus on board died in the dark and chaos, amidst allegations Capt. Francesco Schettino had abandoned ship early to save himself long before the last passengers.

In February, a fire on board another Carnival ship with more than 1,000 on board, the Costa Allegra, left it powerless and drifting in the sweltering Indian Ocean. Filth and human waste piled up until the ship could be towed by French fishermen to the Seychelles.

Carnival owns multiple cruise lines, including Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Seabourn and P&O.

Last month, on the Star Princess in the Gulf of Panama, birders Jeff Gilligan from Portland, Ore., and Judy Meredith from Bend, Ore., spotted the drifting fishing vessel with powerful binoculars.

Photos taken by Mr. Gilligan from the Star Princess of the drifting nine-metre fishing boat, named Fifty Cent, can be seen on Panama-Guide.com, the online English-language news outlet that first reported the story.

“We all watched him for a bit and thought, ‘This guy’s in distress. He’s trying to get our attention,’ “ said Ms. Meredith, who told a member of the Princess’s sales staff who, in turn, contacted the ship’s officers. The Princess representative ”called the bridge and I sort of talked through the story,” Ms. Meredith told NPR. “And I was trying to have a sense of urgency in my voice – and tell them that the boat was in distress.”

Mr. Gilligan, who took pictures of Fifty Cent, said: “We expected the ship to turn back or stop or something.”

Instead, the Star Princess continued on its way.

“That’s us,” Mr. Vasquez, 18, said when shown the pictures of Fifty Cent taken by the birders. He told Panama-Guide.com: “It was a really big, white ship. I was waving a red T-shirt, and Fernando was waving a bright orange life jacket over his head.” By then, the three had already been drifting for more than a week after the outboard motor failed and were more than 200 kilometres from shore.

The 16-year-old Fernando Osario didn’t survive the month-long ordeal at sea. Oropeces Betancourt, 24, died the night after the close encounter with the Star Princess, according to Mr. Vasquez.

Ms. Meredith said she contacted Princess Cruises for an explanation after the cruise ended.

She said she was given the following account which differs sharply from the latest company explanation. She was told the captain had been in contact with a fishing fleet that had asked him to divert slightly to avoid some nets and that after altering course, the fishermen “were waving their shirts because they were thanking the ship.”

There’s now a raging online debate among cruisers on sites like cruisecritic.com as to whether the birders on board and the crew of the Star Princess did enough.

Maritime law – and tradition – imposes a duty on all captains to “to assist persons in distress at sea.”

- Globe and Mail

Lady of the Seas on her last leg

Cape Town - People flocked to Cape Town harbour on Thursday afternoon to bid the polar research and supply vessel the SA Agulhas well on her final voyage to Marion Island.

Many took photos of the sturdy red and white ship docked at the east pier of the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which had travelled about 1.5 million kilometres and made a total of 158 voyages.

In typical local style, adults and children enjoyed the sunny day while eating boerewors rolls and chatting about their fond memories of the 35-year-old ship.

The 21 members of the south Indian Ocean island over-wintering team boarded the boat at 13:00, but were likely to leave only later in the afternoon, depending on immigrations and customs.

We travelled in style

For those who had worked and travelled on the "old lady of the sea", it was a little bit harder to let go. Biological researcher Marthn Bester recalled his travels on board.

"The boat was something of a comfort for all of us. We travelled in style. It had a lovely bar," he said.

He was onboard the year the ship suffered rudder damage in Antarctica.

"There was a bit of drama and the SA Agulhas' rudder broke on Friday the 13th, in December 1991.

"Captain [Bill] Leith wasn't happy with this. The SA Agulhas got a total revamp. They took two back doors off and made a primitive rudder."

Bester said Leith stood on the bridge with a radio and navigated for the person sailing the ship.

"He said we were going to go to Cape Town like this and I actually believed he would have managed this."

Once freed by a German icebreaker, the SAS Drakensberg towed the vessel back to Cape Town in February 1992.

Bester said many had found love on the boat.

"A lot of us met our partners for life [although] some of us lost them," he said, chuckling.

"We are very fond of the SA Agulhas and we hope to see it around the harbour now and again."

Sea bird researcher John Klopper said he took his first voyage, and the SA Agulhas' eighth voyage, in 1978, when it was "pretty new, clean and shiny".

He recalled how Leith would add R10 to every seaman's bar bill and use the money at the end of the trip to commission a new painting.

Scientific research

About 15 paintings ended up in the passenger lounge, mostly of sailing ships and a few of the ship itself.

He said he hoped these paintings would be transferred to replacement ship SA Agulhas II, due to arrive from Finland in early in May.

Unlike her predecessor, the new ship was built as both a polar supply ship and research vessel, SA Agulhas II project manager Alan Robertson said.

It had onboard laboratories for scientific research and cargo holds and tanks for storing station supplies. There was also a library, business centre, 100-seat auditorium and two gymnasiums.

"The ship is going to make the transition from shore to ship smoother... it has very good satellite access and internet access throughout," he said.

The modern ship was three times more powerful and its ice-strengthening capability much stronger.

"This creates the opportunity to go down [to Antarctica] earlier in the summer and return later in the winter."

The ship would be able to stay out at sea for 90 days, rather than 80 days, as with the old ship.

Several government departments have indicated their interest to take over the SA Agulhas.

- SAPA/NEWS

Ship to sail despite cyclone

The MSC Sinfonia will depart from Durban's harbour today as planned, despite a looming tropical cyclone.

Newswatch has been inundated by anxious passengers - and their families - asking if the ship will still sail.

The cruise liner leaves at 2pm today, and is due in the Portuguese Islands tomorrow morning.

Allan Foggitt from MSC Starlight Cruises says if conditions change while they are at sea, the captain may take the decision to alter the itinerary - if it is in the best interests of the ship and her passengers.

The tropical cyclone is expected to bring heavy rains and huge swell to Mozambique's southern coast, while Kwazulu Natal is also in for a stormy weekend.

Foggit has assured ship passengers they are in good hands.

"The ship is equipped with the very latest navigation equipment so they can monitor very, very carefully the path of the cyclone, weather conditions, sea conditions - so everybody is in extremely good hands," he said.

- East Coast Radio

SAWDOS:  When I read this article the Titanic Disaster came to mind.  Biggest,  best, most luxuriousness and unsinkable. Nature can never be under estimated.  I for one would not like to be on any ship in a tropical storm.  Be as it may the captain has confidence in his ship and abilities.  Bon Voyage - MSC Sinfonia!

SA Agulhas set for final return

LAST VOYAGE: Crew members of the SA Agulhas bid their loved ones goodbye as the ship leaves on her last voyage from the Cape Town harbour yesterday. South Africa's polar research ship has been in service for almost 30 years Picture: SHELLEY CHRISTIANS

The SA Agulhas will dock in Cape Town on Saturday at the end of its final polar expedition, the environmental affairs department said on Friday.

"South Africa's polar research and supply ship, Agulhas, is returning from its final polar voyage to Antarctica," environmental affairs spokesman Zolile Nqayi said in a statement.

It will be replaced by a new and modern polar vessel in May this year.

"The members of the over-wintering team will all be present as the ship arrives back at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town."

The ship left for Antarctica in December last year. It had made a total of 39 trips to Antarctica since 1978.

"The Agulhas has had a good stretch; it is 32 years old," Nqayi said.

- Times Live

Cruise industry adopts new safety policy

(CNN) -- Cruise lines are now required to conduct passenger safety drills before leaving port, under a rule announced by three cruise industry associations.

The new policy is the first to come out of an internal cruise industry review announced last month in response to the Costa Concordia disaster. At least 16 people died and 16 are still missing following the ship's January 13 collision with rocks close to the shore of the Italian island of Giglio.

Holding muster drills before leaving port goes beyond the existing legal requirement that passengers participate in the safety drills within 24 hours of embarking.

"There are various means of delivering passenger safety instructions and abandon ship instructions, but we believe ... the existing international requirement that we provide this instruction within 24 hours can be bettered by doing it immediately upon (passenger) boarding," said Michael Crye, executive vice president of Cruise Lines International Association.

CLIA -- the largest cruise industry organization in North America, according to its website -- the European Cruise Council and the UK-based Passenger Shipping Association all have adopted the new policy, effective immediately. Passengers who arrive after drills are held will receive prompt individual or group safety briefings.

About 600 of more than 3,000 Corcordia passengers had not participated in the muster drill because they got on the ship within hours of the accident.

"The official investigation will make a determination as to whether this briefing would have been helpful in that regard," Crye said.

The organizations will consider the findings of the official Concordia investigation when they are released and make further recommendations based on those details, Crye said.

- CNN

Giant Wave Impact in Other on Tuesday, 07 February, 2012 at 19:44 (07:44 PM) UTC.

Image: Google Maps (Click on image for larger view.)

The 186-metre cargo ship Dry Beam is moored at Ogden Point, its massive vertical support beams bent like matchsticks and its load of logs shoved askew by a rogue wave on the North Pacific. The vessel was en route to Japan from Longview, Washington, when it ran into trouble, lost some logs and issued a mayday call Thursday night about 480 kilometres off northern Vancouver Island. A rogue wave had pummelled the ship's left, or port, side and caused many of the raw logs on the deck to shift toward the starboard side. None of the 23 Filipino crew aboard the 26,000-ton vessel was hurt. The damaged vessel limped into port at Ogden Point in Victoria on Sunday, escorted from the high seas by U.S. and Canadian coast guard vessels. The wave that slammed into the port side was 10-to-15 metres high, said Capt. Jostein Hoddevik, principal surveyor with IMS Marine Surveyors of Burnaby. "It would have a lot of water behind it, a lot of force," Hoddevik said at Ogden Point on Monday.

He was aboard the vessel to assess the damage and review the incident on behalf of the ship's insurers. A qualified captain with experience crossing the Atlantic, Hoddevik said there is little the crew could have done to avoid the wave. The incident occurred in an area of the north Pacific that's notorious for monstrous waves and punishing seas, he said. The currents and wave patterns combine to make this a highly dangerous area. "Several of the accidents I've been investigating have come from the same general location - a small area." The vessel was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said. "The timing of the wave would be crucial." Cargo vessels are damaged by waves like this off the West Coast once or twice a year, he said. Sometimes the damage is relatively minor and the vessel can continue on to its destination. At times, the vessel must return to port for repairs. The cargo ship lost a few of its logs and others were dangling off the starboard side as it arrived in Victoria. The vessel will need extensive repairs before it is seaworthy again, Hoddevik added. The bent stanchions on the port side will be cut off, and the logs removed and put on another ship or barge.

- RSOE EDIS

Teen sailor to complete world tour Saturday

INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS

Dutch teenager Laura Dekker on board her boat. Picture by: S'bonelo Ngcobo

Dutch teen Laura Dekker, who went to court for the right to go to sea, will become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe alone when she reaches the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten Saturday.

“At 3.00 p.m. (1900 GMT) tomorrow, Laura will arrive in Sint Maarten, at the Dutch part of the island, a year after her departure on January 20, 2011,” her manager Gerard van Erp said Friday.

The teenager, who turns 17 on September 20, will beat the current record by some eight months, as she effectively has to complete her journey before September 16 to beat the record for the youngest sailor to make an unassisted world tour.

The current record holder is Australian Jessica Watson, who achieved it in May 2010, three days before she turned 17.

But unlike Watson, who circumnavigated non-stop, Dekker sailed from port-to-port and was never at sea for more than three weeks.

Dekker's achievement will not be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records, which has refused to recognise records by minors which are considered “unsuitable.”

Neither would the World Sailing Speed Record Council - the official body that validates such records - acknowledge the feat.

“All that matters is speed, we don't do any personal records, age doesn't matter,” John Reed, the council's secretary, told AFP.

Dekker's manager has stressed that what matters to the teenager is not the record. “What is important, is for her dream to become reality,” he said.

A welcoming ceremony has been planned for Dekker's arrival, with her parents, island officials and journalists expected among guests.

“We have already received more than 240 requests for interview, the whole world wants to speak with Laura,” said van Erp.

The Dutch teen originally set off from Gibraltar on August 21, 2010 in her yacht Guppy after winning a 10-month court battle with child welfare authorities.

But a change of her planned course led her to make the starting point from her trip Sint Maarten instead.

A Dutch court had blocked plans for her to cast off a year earlier - when she was just 14 - and placed her in the care of welfare officers on the grounds that she was too young to guarantee her safety at sea.

She ran away to Sint Maarten, an island of the Lesser Antilles divided between France and the Netherlands, and police had to escort her back home.

Born on a boat in New Zealand of a seafaring family, she also lived on a boat in the Netherlands with her father Dick and dog Spot before setting out on her voyage.

- Sapa-AFP