yacht that disappeared off sydney harbour

The Schooner Patanela which disappeared off the Sydney coast.

The final voyage of the Patanela, the Aussie boat that vanished without a trace

Pedestrian TV . By Josephine Rozenberg-Clarke .

Exactly 30 years ago today, on October 16 1988, a 19-metre schooner called the Patanela set off on a month-long voyage from Fremantle, WA‘s busy port city, with an end destination of Airlie Beach, part of QLD‘s Whitsundays region. But the boat would never arrive, making it an unsolved mystery still baffling people to this day.

In the latest episode of PEDESTRIAN.TV‘s unsolved mystery podcast  All Aussie Mystery Hour , we look at the Patanela ‘s mysterious final voyage.

The yacht was owned by wealthy businessman Alan Nicol, and the captain was a bloke named Ken Jones, who manned the ship alongside his wife Noreen and their daughter Ronnalee. They were joined by two crew members named Michael Calvin and John Blisset.

Alan alighted at Esperance because he had work commitments and Ronnalee got off the boat at Port Eyre. The boat and Ken, Noreen, Michael and John continued on, seemingly with no issues. Until around 1am on November 8, when Ken, apparently located off Port Botany in Sydney, radioed in to Sydney Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) operator Keith McLennan the following message:

I believe we’ve run out of fuel…we’ve hoisted our sails and we’re tacking out to the east, tracking about zero-eight-zero…our intention is to tack out for a couple of hours, then tack back in. We may need some assistance in the morning to get back into Sydney Harbour.

Keith said than Ken didn’t sound distressed, and the call itself was fairly routine. The weather was overcast yet calm, and the Patanela was more than capable of navigating those kind of conditions.

There was a second call asking for directions to the south coast town of Moruya which was slightly odd as it was in the opposite direction to where they were headed. And in the third call, received at 2am, things got a bit weird. The line was all static, and Ken could be heard saying: “Three hundred kilometres south? Is it? South…”

There was no further communication from the Patanela and the yacht never made it to Airlie Beach. No trace of the boat or the crew has ever been seen again — aside from a buoy marked “Patanela, Fremantle” plucked from the waters off Terrigal, on NSW’s Central Coast, the following year.

There was also a message in a bottle found in 2007, almost 20 years after the boat disappeared. But for all those mysterious details, you’ll just have to listen to the episode. Subscribe on iTunes HERE , or on Spotify HERE . Or, you can just listen / download below.

Listen to the podcast at Pedestrian TV .

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The Final Voyage Of The Patanela, The Aussie Boat Which Vanished Without A Trace

Josephine Rozenberg-Clarke

In the latest episode of PEDESTRIAN.TV ‘s unsolved mystery podcast  All Aussie Mystery Hour , we look at the Patanela ‘s mysterious final voyage.

The yacht was owned by wealthy businessman Alan Nicol , and the captain was a bloke named Ken Jones , who manned the ship alongside his wife Noreen and their daughter Ronnalee . They were joined by two crew members named Michael Calvin and John Blisset .

Alan alighted at Esperance because he had work commitments and Ronnalee got off the boat at Port Eyre . The boat and Ken, Noreen, Michael and John continued on, seemingly with no issues. Until around 1am on November 8, when Ken, apparently located off Port Botany in Sydney , radioed in to Sydney Overseas Telecommunications Commission (OTC) operator Keith McLennan the following message:

I believe we’ve run  out of fuel…we’ve hoisted our sails and we’re tacking out to the east, tracking about zero-eight-zero…our intention is to tack out for a couple of hours, then tack back in. We may need some assistance in the morning to get back into Sydney Harbour.

Keith said than Ken didn’t sound distressed, and the call itself was fairly routine. The weather was overcast yet calm, and the Patanela was more than capable of navigating those kind of conditions.

There was a second call asking for directions to the south coast town of Moruya which was slightly odd as it was in the opposite direction to where they were headed. And in the third call, received at 2am, things got a bit weird. The line was all static, and Ken could be heard saying: “Three hundred kilometres south? Is it? South…”

There was no further communication from the  Patanela and the yacht never made it to Airlie Beach. No trace of the boat or the crew has ever been seen again — aside from a buoy marked “Patanela, Fremantle” plucked from the waters off Terrigal , on NSW’s Central Coast, the following year.

There was also a message in a bottle found in 2007, almost 20 years after the boat disappeared. But for all those mysterious details, you’ll just have to listen to the episode. Subscribe on iTunes HERE , or on Spotify HERE . Or, you can just listen / download below.

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Ghost Ship: What happened to the Patanela?

The ship was the Patanela, a twin-masted, steel-hulled schooner on its way to North Queensland with four people on board. Not a trace of them has ever been found.

Under Investigation gathered a panel of some of this country's greatest maritime experts - retired Submarine Commander John Dikkenberg, world renowned yachtswoman and lawyer Adrienne Cahalan, author and investigator Robert Reid who spent years investigating the Patanela and former Victorian Search and Rescue commander Ian Veitch who has conducted dozens of searches at sea.

A coronial inquest determined the Patanela was the victim of a hit and run collision, probably with a  much larger tanker and was forced to the bottom of the sea with all hands on board.

It's a finding UI's panel of experts doubt with alternate theories being debated including hijack, a murder-suicide or a different accident scenario which saw the crew in a life boat in worsening conditions who eventually drowned at sea.

And to add to the mystery a retired police officer broke a 30 year silence to detail the sighting of a ship he is certain was the Patanela.

WATCH THE FULL INVESTIGATION ON 9NOW HERE

Built to last

The Patanela was hand built in the mid 1950's in Tasmania, the first steel-hulled ship of its kind constructed there and one of the rarest vessels in the country.

It had a spectacular career ferrying scientific teams to the Antarctic, operating as a crayfishing vessel in some of the toughest and roughest seas, before being bought by a wealthy West Australian businessman who planned to use the boat as a tourist charter in North Queensland.

The vessel was equipped with the latest technology, colour radar and anti collision and completely refitted for its voyage from Fremantle to Airlie Beach.

"It was about as unsinkable as you could get with a steel vessel," Robert Reid told Ui.

"It was a robust, steel, 75-foot schooner and had proved to be a well-founded, seagoing large yacht," Submariner John Dikkenberg noted.

The delivery captain was Ken Jones who was joined by his wife Noreen for the trip. Two young deckhands from country New South Wales, John Blissett and Michael Calvin also signed on.

It was meant to be a routine journey but ended in doom and mystery.

On October 16, 1988 the Patanela set out from Fremantle bound for Queensland.

On board the four crew who were joined by Alan Nicol the owner and the skipper's daughter Ronnalee Jones. They would stay for part of the journey.

For most of the early part of the trip there was no indication anything was wrong.

Halfway across the Great Australian Bight the two young crew members penned a letter in a bottle inviting whoever found their message to join them for a holiday in Queensland. All seemed happy, ship shape.

"Out here in the lonely Southern Ocean and thought we would give away a free holiday in the Whitsunday Islands in north Queensland".  The note read signed by John Blissett.

But about the same time skipper Ken Jones received a distressing call from his son in Perth. Jones' yacht The Fremantle Doctor had been repossessed and his business was facing massive financial problems.

This was the first hint of any trouble on this trip and immediately raised red flags for UI's panel of experts.

John Dikkenberg, alert to the moods of crew in submarines, noted:

"My entire reading of Ken Jones was that at the very least, he was under a lot of pressure."

Dikkenberg also noted Jones, an experienced deep water sailor and yachtsman, had spent vast amounts of time motoring during his voyage, not using the schooner's sails.

He wondered if Jones' financial pressures have caused more emotional distress than anyone knew and eventually led to a break down and murder suicide on board.

"And this would explain to me why a really well-founded mariner, someone with thousands of sea miles, a good mariner in every respect, just went to sea in a very depressed state," he said.

As the Patanela approached Portland in Victoria only Ken Jones, his wife and the two crewmen were on board. Owner Alan Nicol had disembarked in Esperance, Ronnalee Jones in Port Lincoln, South Australia.

Then strangely upon arrival Jones rang the boat's owner requesting $500 for fuel which bizarrely he didn't purchase.

This raised concerns with UI's panel.

"That seems a bit strange that if he's motoring across the Great Australian Bight, if he's asked for money, it means that he wants the fuel. But it just adds to the mystery of why he didn't and he requested the money and been given the money," former Search and Rescue boss Ian Veitch told UI.

The Patanela, re-stocked with some supplies but no extra fuel continued on its voyage.

On November 7th the ship was seen motoring past a lighthouse in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney.

And in the early hours of the morning of November 8th the Patanela arrived off the coast of Botany Bay.

But there was a problem.

Radio Calls

At two and a half minutes to one, OTC (Overseas Telecommunication Commission), which managed all messages and radio calls from ships, received a message from skipper Ken Jones.

Recorded tapes reveal these messages:

KEN JONES: SYDNEY RADIO - SYDNEY RADIO SYDNEY RADIO THIS IS PATANELA PATANELA PATANELA  ON CHANNEL 16 DO YOU READ?

OTC: PATANELA, SYDNEY GOOD MORNING LOUD AND CLEAR OVER.

KEN JONES: PATANELA - I BELIEVE  WE'VE RUN OUT OF FUEL, WE'RE APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES EAST OF BOTANY BAY.

KEN JONES: WE'VE HOISTED OUR SAILS AND WE'RE TACKING OUT TO THE EAST - SO TRACKING ABOUT 080

Running out of fuel - having motored for the majority of the voyage - stunned the panel of experts, but also the words where Ken Jones claimed he "thought" he'd run out of fuel perplexed them.

"I would've thought that if you're going to run out of fuel, you keep sailing and you save whatever fuel you've got," John Dikkenberg told the panel.

"if he's running out of fuel, you would sail and save that fuel for when you did need it. And to say I think I've run out of fuel, you think he'd be experienced enough to know whether he has run out of fuel or not, " Ian Veitch added.

Veteran yachtswoman Adrienne Cahalan believed Jones may just have been distracted.

"So that he mightn't have been on his game and then not taking on the fuel. It might have been a risk that he took that he might have thought, "Oh well I'll get it in Eden." And then he got to Eden thought, "Oh no, I'll make it to Sydney, it'll be okay." And that gamble didn't pay off, "she said.

In that same message to OTC, Ken Jones also indicated he might need assistance entering Sydney Harbour the next morning - another call which intrigued our panel.

But if this first message was unusual, a second an hour later totally baffled UI's panel of experts.

KEN JONES: How far South is Moruya ?

We're unfamiliar with that position.

How far South is it in miles  from us ?

"I have no explanation. I have no idea why you would make that first call to say I'm east of Botany Bay and then asking for directions to Moruya. He'd know where he is," John Dikkenberg said.

"That is very strange, that is probably the strangest thing of everything," Adrienne Cahalan added.

A third short message then static .

KEN: 300 KS SOUTH……IS IT SOUTH? …. STATIC

Then silence and the Patanela is never heard from again.

The unusual nature of the OTC radio calls led author and investigator Robert Reid to believe foul play was involved.

Reid, who investigated the disappearance for years, maintains to this day the Patanela was hijacked by a third party who boarded the vessel, or by the two young crewmen on board.

Coincidentally, John Blissett and Michael Calvin had worked on the Australian movie "Dead Calm" , a chilling story of a yacht  being hijacked.

Robert Reid believed there were too many coincidences.

"When you look at the so-called coincidence that they'd been talking about that. Then Calvin turns up in Fremantle and talks his way onto the Patanela. Then Blisset turns up, two old mates, and he gets on board as well. So they turn up on Patanela and she goes missing."

John Blissett's mother Marj refuted that theory out of hand.

"They wouldn't. They were not like that. They knew what was right and what was wrong in life. This was not something they would do," she said.

And there was nothing in their actions leading up to the disappearance which indicated the boys intended piracy and hijack. Their carefree message in a bottle seems to show they were having a good time.

Sudden sink

A Coroner ruled the Patanela was the victim of a sudden sinking after a massive collision with another vessel, most likely a much larger tanker.

Dozens of ships were investigated, but only one, a 43,000 tonne bulk carrier, the Howard Smith, was anywhere near the Patanela at the time.

Howard Smith crew members  told Federal Police they did not see the smaller vessel on radar nor heard a collision and there was no sign of any impact with another ship.

What mystified UI's panel of experts was the complete lack of any debris.

"With any search, you usually find some debris, something to indicate either an accident or something that's floated from the vessel when it sank. In this, there's just nothing," Ian Veitch noted.

Nothing was found until almost six months later when a life buoy, clearly marked as Patanela's was located off the coast of Terrigal north of Sydney.

Adrienne Cahalan, using weather and tidal data from that time, concluded any debris would have been washed out to sea. And with a search not being instigated for 11 days after the disappearance the likelihood of finding anything else was remote.

Australia's Ghost Ship, the Patanela was sighted dozens of times after that ill-fated night.

All were investigated and only one seemed credible.

Retired New South Wales police officer Ted McCarthy and his wife saw a vacht matching the Patanela in March 1989, months after the disappearance.

Armed with a magazine article with a picture of the Patanela, McCarthy compared the picture with the boat using his binoculars.

He remained convinced he was witnessing the missing schooner.

" I identified a number of points, things like it had square portholes, which was a bit unusual. It was blue, the colour was all exactly the same, the rigging was the same. The wheelhouse down the back of the boat was as, per the picture. And up the front on the bowsprit area, there was plaited rope which was quite noticeable and quite obvious, and it was on the Patanela," Ted McCarthy detailed to UI.

He radioed the vessel asking for identification and whoever was onboard denied the ship was the Patanela.

If it was, it hoisted anchor later that evening and disappeared for all time.

Conclusions

At least three of UI's panel of experts are convinced human intervention was behind the disappearance of the Patanela - whether hijack by persons unknown, by the crew members or the captain himself.

But Adrienne Cahalan holds a completely different view - that the ship was involved in an accident at sea and the crew were claimed in a lifeboat in worsening ocean conditions.

Regardless of their differences they all agree the Patanela mystery, Australia's most famous Ghost Ship, may never be solved.

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Search continues for entrepreneur after Sydney boat crash – as it happened

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Emergency crews were called to a fire at the address about 9pm. The body of a man, yet to be formally identified, was located around the corner in Railway Parade in Chadstone on Friday afternoon following a search by officers.

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It can be a sensitive and confronting topic for many people so it is important that any future legislation is done through intensive and thorough consultation with all Territorians.

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Lieke Janssen , of Refugee Action Collective Victoria and an organiser of Melbourne’s rally, believes the government has a responsibility to act. She said:

It was a Labor government that actually introduced this policy. This 10-year anniversary marks the perfect moment to demand the current Labor government gets rid of these policies once and for all.

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2 people are rescued from a disabled yacht off the Australian coast

Two people have been rescued unharmed Tuesday after spending a night aboard a disabled yacht in the heavy seas off the Australian coast

SYDNEY — Two people were rescued unharmed Tuesday after spending a night aboard a disabled yacht in heavy seas off the Australian coast.

The 60-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were rescued at 7:30 a.m. from their 19-meter (62-foot) yacht, which was abandoned 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the New South Wales state coast, Police Chief Inspector Anthony Brazzill said. The pair were expected to reach Sydney aboard a police boat Tuesday night.

The pair had activated their emergency beacon around 1 p.m. Monday, about 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of the New South Wales coastal town of Nowra, police said.

The yacht, “Spirit of Mateship,” had experienced a mechanical failure, lost a rudder, was taking water and was drifting east away from the shore, Brazzill said. With an ocean swell of 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) and winds of up 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, he said, conditions were considered too dangerous to attempt a rescue in the dark.

An air force C-130 Hercules transport plane flew to the yacht and made radio contact with the two people onboard. A police boat and an Australian navy warship reached the yacht early Tuesday.

Brazzill said a winching rescue by military helicopter was considered, but ruled out as too dangerous because of the sea conditions.

The pair were rescued in a small craft launched from the police boat, he said.

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Two rescued from yacht stranded off Australian coast in 90kmph storm

Sailors survive 'horrible' night at sea after yacht loses power and drifts 70 nautical miles in extreme weather conditions, article bookmarked.

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A dramatic rescue operation unfolded off the coast of Australia on Tuesday after two sailors were stranded on a yacht overnight in extreme weather conditions.

The sailors, a 60-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman, were rescued in a multi-agency operation after their 19m yacht, the Spirit of Mateship, starting taking on water due to a mechanical issue.

The rescue operation was initiated at 1pm on Monday after the Spirit of Mateship sent out a distress beacon, and it took several hours for helicopters to locate the vessel. In the meantime, the yacht lost power and communication capabilities, and was battered by strong winds of up to 90kmph.

Ben Flight, duty manager at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Response Centre, said a helicopter was able to establish radio contact with the yacht and fly above it but was unable to retrieve the passengers due to the challenging conditions.

A subsequent rescue attempt was also abandoned due to rough seas, leaving the sailors on board to endure a "horrible" night at sea, Mr Flight said.

“They were sort of just at the mercy of the elements. They would have been moving around uncomfortably. It would have been particularly windy, noisy, probably quite wet as well.

“I don’t imagine they would have got any rest overnight, so I imagine they’d be quite tired and very relieved to be rescued,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.

The NSW Water Police vessel Nemesis was able to make contact with the sailors at 1am on Tuesday, arriving at the scene at 3am.

However, extreme weather conditions prevented the crew from rescuing them.

Anthony Brazzill of the New South Wales  police described the conditions as "terrible”. The sailors had to jump onto a rescue boat one at a time, with Mr Brazzill praising the experienced mariners who executed the rescue.

"It’s a matter of just basically timing it,” he said. “Get the person to jump, as they’re coming in, get them to jump and catch, doing one at a time, obviously making sure that people have the life jackets on.”

The yacht had drifted 70 nautical miles overnight and the passengers were unable to bring the sails down, Mr Brazzill said.

“The yacht was running away from us as we were chasing it down the coast which obviously made it a challenge.”

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said an emergency alert from the yacht was received on Monday, and a distress beacon was activated about 150km offshore from Nowra.

The sailors were rescued around 7.25am on Tuesday and were travelling to Sydney on board the Nemesis for medical assessment.

They were fatigued but uninjured and were expected to land at the NSW Police Marine Area Command late Tuesday night.

The Spirit of Mateship has taken part in several Sydney to Hobart races since 2013. The yacht was left in the ocean, with Mr Brazzill stating that their priority is to "save lives, not save boats”.

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Aussie sailors stranded on sinking yacht relive harrowing ordeal

T wo sailors have expressed their gratitude to the teams who rescued them from their sinking yacht in an epic mission that started 24 hours earlier.

Brett, 60, and Lisa, 48, set off their emergency beacon at 12.40pm on Monday when they were 185km east off Nowra on NSW  south coast.

Their 20 metre yacht, Spirit of Mateship, had suffered a mechanical issue and their boat began taking on water and lost its rudder.

NSW water police vessel Nemesis reached the yacht at about 3am on Tuesday.

The pair were rescued and boarded the Nemesis four hours later, uninjured and 'in good spirits', according to the Australian Maritime and Safety Authority. 

The Nemesis sailed into Sydney Harbour just before 6pm before the sailors were reunited with their families 30 minutes later when the vessel docked in Balmain.

The pair thanked the emergency teams that helped them make it safely onto dry land.

'They all did a fabulous job. Couldn't fault them one bit,' Brett told reporters.

When asked how they were feeling being back home, Lisa said she felt 'safe and secure and happy' and said that they didn't get much sleep the night before.

'It was great communication and great effort from everyone,' she said.

Brett added he was feeling 'good now' and appreciated the 'great coffee' made by one of the team members and the meat pies given to them 'helped'.

The experienced sailor urged everyone to equip their boat with an emergency beacon.

'Have an EPIRB. They're just brilliant,' he said.

'Otherwise, who knows where we'd be.' 

NSW Marine Area Command Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said the rescue mission had been a 'resounding success',  ABC News  reported. 

It's believed the two sailors left Jervis Bay, NSW on Sunday or Monday destined for Sydney, with Brett then continuing to the Gold Coast.

The yacht had initially been 85 nautical miles from Sydney but due to the bad weather conditions, the vessel had ended up 160 nautical miles offshore when rescue teams arrived.

'That's how strong the winds were and how fast it was, pushing the vessel away,' NSW Marine Area Command Sergeant Ryan Spong said.

Their call for help triggered a comprehensive emergency response with officers from the Marine Area Command and Australian Defence Force informed by the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre of the distress beacon.

Three helicopters from ASMA and NSW Ambulance flew to out to the yacht and made contact with the sailors on Monday night before flying back due to bad weather and fuel considerations.

An RAFF C130 aircraft also departed and made contact with the crew, and the Royal Navy Ships HMAS Arunta and HMAS Canberra also made their way to the distressed vessel. 

Spirit of Mateship had participated in several Sydney to Hobart yacht races but could not be saved and was abandoned at sea. 

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Lost yacht mystery continues 30 years on

Topic: Sailing

The search for the Charleston is long over but for families of those on board, the search for answers continues. ( Jack Earle: Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania )

As a fleet of more than 100 prepares to set sail in the 65th Sydney to Hobart, one of Australia's great yachting mysteries remains unsolved.

On the wall at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania hangs one of few images of the 11-metre yacht, Charleston.

It has been 30 years since the Hobart yacht vanished en route to the Sydney-Hobart start line.

The search for the Charleston is long over, but for families of those on board, the search for answers continues.

Pam Corkhill's husband Geoff and his father Lawrence were part of the five-person crew on board when the yacht vanished in December 1979.

"It was a very sleek, smart looking boat and on the water it really caught your eye," she said.

Ms Corkhill remembers clearly the day she last saw them.

"It was a beautiful morning and as they sailed off, I can remember quite clearly a bird just came down and landed on the water and then took off again," she said.

"It was just picturesque and a lot of banter going on about 'Don't be late for New Year's Eve'. And that was the last we saw of them."

The following evening, radio contact was made with the yacht for the last time near Flinders Island.

When nothing was heard for several days and Charleston failed to arrive in Sydney, a large scale search and rescue mission was launched.

Ms Corkhill says it was an agonising time.

"I think like anybody when they are in a trauma situation you go into automatic pilot and you just keep going," she said.

"I had two young children at the time, my daughter was seven months old and my son was two-and-a-half, so you just keep on going."

With hopes fading, the prime minister Malcolm Fraser intervened just before Christmas to keep the search going. But every effort to find the boat failed.

"We also sent a private plane to New Zealand searching because all the information from Canberra and from search and rescue indicated that if they had lost a mast or a rudder and they were just drifting they could have ended up on an island south of New Zealand," Ms Corkhill said.

"We also went - and you do everything when someone is missing - we went to a clairvoyant.

"The clairvoyant also indicated that same island."

Rowan Johnston was commodore of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania at the time of Charleston's disappearance.

"It had only been launched that winter and it was a very modern design in those days and it was very fast," he said.

"Some people think it may have been a bit too lightly built and it may have contributed towards it. But no-one will know, we don't know what caused the loss of it."

Mr Johnston remembers there was a strong wind warning but no storm.

"[The] weather wasn't 100 per cent but it has been a lot worse," he said.

He says he doesn't know what happened to the Charleston, but he wishes he did.

"Some people think he may have hit a container that had been lost off a ship and was floating just underneath the surface and tore the bottom out of it but it was something that happened very quickly," he said.

"But there was never any wreckage or anything found so you never know what really did happen."

Time of reflection

For Pam Corkhill, every year the Sydney to Hobart is a time of private reflection.

"I think everyone has got their own theory and that is what they are comfortable living with," she said.

But she remains hopeful.

"Strange things have happened, you never ever know," she said.

"Mind you, I don't know if we would recognise them, they would all be old and bald by now."

2 people are rescued from a disabled yacht off the Australian coast

Two people have been rescued unharmed Tuesday after spending a night aboard a disabled yacht in the heavy seas off the Australian coast

SYDNEY -- Two people were rescued unharmed Tuesday after spending a night aboard a disabled yacht in heavy seas off the Australian coast.

The 60-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman were rescued at 7:30 a.m. from their 19-meter (62-foot) yacht, which was abandoned 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the New South Wales state coast, Police Chief Inspector Anthony Brazzill said. The pair were expected to reach Sydney aboard a police boat Tuesday night.

The pair had activated their emergency beacon around 1 p.m. Monday, about 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of the New South Wales coastal town of Nowra, police said.

The yacht, “Spirit of Mateship,” had experienced a mechanical failure, lost a rudder, was taking water and was drifting east away from the shore, Brazzill said. With an ocean swell of 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) and winds of up 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour, he said, conditions were considered too dangerous to attempt a rescue in the dark.

An air force C-130 Hercules transport plane flew to the yacht and made radio contact with the two people onboard. A police boat and an Australian navy warship reached the yacht early Tuesday.

Brazzill said a winching rescue by military helicopter was considered, but ruled out as too dangerous because of the sea conditions.

The pair were rescued in a small craft launched from the police boat, he said.

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A wide scale search for a missing teenager who was last seen swimming south of Adelaide will resume at daylight.

Emergency services were alerted after the 17-year-old boy disappeared in waters off Granite Island at Victor Harbor, 83km south of Adelaide, about 3.15pm on Sunday.

SA Police co-ordinated a search and rescue effort which included, Polair and local surf lifesaving and search and rescue, but unfortunately the teen is yet to be found at time of publication.

Superintendent Joanne Howard said the search will continue at daylight on Monday for the teenage boy.

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“We would like to thank the local community and emergency services for their assistance with the search,” he said.

“We will continue to search with the assistance of local emergency services and other resources tomorrow.”

Anyone who has information and has not yet spoken to police is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Mystery deepens after bodies found on yacht

The bodies of two people, a woman and a man, have been found on a yacht moored off the coast of Sydney leaving police stumped over their cause of death.

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Peter Ray and Lixin Wang planned to spend one night, July 29, on the boat moored at Tunks Park in Cammeray but were reported missing by a friend when they failed to return home by July 31.

Police were called to check on their welfare and found the pair dead in bed on the 47-foot yacht at 9pm on July 31.

The yacht, named the 'Taloha', belonged to Mr Ray, police confirmed on August 1.

Ms Wang and Mr Ray drove separate cars to the waterfront on July 29 but the pair were "known to each other", police said.

Crime scene mystery

The cause of death "was not obvious". Police said neither appeared to be physically injured.

The deaths are being treated as "suspicious" until the cause is determined, detective inspector Siobhan Munro said on August 1.

Police said a "number of items have been identified at the scene" that were of interest to the investigation. They were taken for forensic examination.

Fumes were detected by police at the scene and Fire and Rescue NSW were called for specialist assistance.

A crime scene has been established and an investigation commenced by detectives.

An autopsy will be conducted in the coming days to determine the cause of death, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.

Anna Houlahan

Anna Houlahan reports on crime and social issues affecting regional and remote Australia in her role as national crime reporter at Australian Community Media (ACM). She was ACM’s Trainee of the Year in 2023 and, aside from reporting on crime, has travelled the country as a journalist for Explore Travel Magazine. Reach out with news or updates to [email protected]

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Smoke on the water: Australian Border Force let $300 million worth of illegal tobacco sail away

A rogue container ship was still in NSW waters, weeks after the Australian Border Force refused to let police seize the illegal cargo, all while the so-called tobacco wars spread to Sydney.

Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.

A rogue container ship carrying more than two tonnes of illegal tobacco – worth up to $300 million on Sydney’s streets – was intercepted by NSW Police off Newcastle but was allowed to sail free after Australia Border Force told officers they could not seize the cargo or bring the vessel into port.

Three weeks later, the MV Nami was still in NSW waters and was even refuelled by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority – with the blessing of the ABF – after its captain said they were low on fuel and food.

It then vanished into international waters with its illicit cargo.

The revelation, exposed by The Daily Telegraph today, comes amid concerns in Sydney of the so-called tobacco wars spreading to the Harbour City from Melbourne, where there has been a spate of fire bombings against tobacco stores.

Increasing numbers of NSW residents are buying cheap illegal cigarettes at corner stores instead of genuine plain packaged cigarettes at 7-Elevens or supermarkets as organised crime infiltrates the sector.

Details of the failure to grab the MV Nami’s illegal cargo – estimated to be worth $300 million on the streets – has been confirmed by both the ABF and NSW Police.

On New Year’s Day, the ABF informed NSW police the MV Nami was about a 100kms offshore south of Newcastle and possibly involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs believed to be cocaine.

NSW Police vessel Nemesis, along with officers from the ABF, boarded the ship and uncovered more than two tonnes of tobacco and cigarettes.

The captain declared the tobacco, but would not say where is was destined and said there were no plans to come into an Australian port.

ABF claim they could not seize the tobacco because no crime could be proven and that the MV Nami was free to continue sailing.

Sources have confirmed the vessel, registered to Tanzania, was rigged so it could carry out an offshore transfer to smaller vessels while at sea.

“This stuff has been fuelling gang wars in Melbourne, where people are being shot, and is now threatening to spread to Sydney,’’ a former federal and international law enforcement officer said.

“The boat was (supposedly) heading to South Korea and ends up in Australian waters – you don’t get that lost at sea.

“The only conclusion is the tobacco was to be offloaded here in either Melbourne or NSW.

“It appears to be a mother ship, where the illegal cargo is transferred at sea and smuggled ashore – it probably came back later and did that for all we know.

“Border Force could have found a number of reasons to let NSW Police bring it in … and take that cargo … but it would be too expensive, having to store the tobacco, destroy it, et cetera. It seems like it was in the too hard basket.”

The vessel was also verging on being unseaworthy according to sources.

“At a time when criminal gangs are blowing up suburban shopping strips in their war for control over the hugely lucrative illegal tobacco market, Border Force have serious questions to answer over this fiasco,’’ Shadow minister for Home Affairs and Cyber security James Paterson said.

“What kind of message does it send to tobacco smugglers that they can be caught so close to our shores not once but twice with no consequences? Instead of topping up their fuel and feeding them, they should have been arrested and charged to send a strong message about protecting our borders and community. Tony Burke must step up and explain why they didn’t,’’ he said.

ABF have confirmed they asked NSW Police on January 1 to board it after they observed the boat lingering off Australian waters thousands of kilometres off course just before Christmas.

“The ABF’s Maritime Border Command observed an unknown vessel approaching the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Australia on December 20 December 2023. Inquiries revealed the vessel had departed Taiwan on December 7 with a reported destination of South Korea,” a spokesman for the ABF said.

It was within Australian waters but beyond the Contiguous Zone (CZ), a belt of water located 24 nautical miles (NM) from the coastline making where they could only enforce migration of illegal fishing laws, not criminal, the spokesman said.

The ABF continued to monitor the Nami and asked the captain its intentions and, unsatisfied with the response, contacted NSW Police.

On January 1, NSW police and the ABF boarded and searched the vessel.

“With several containers observed on board containing tobacco, as per the manifest. No border controlled drugs were located. Officers also identified 10 crew members on board. They were all spoken to, with no other persons sighted on the vessel,” the ABF said.

They were also satisfied there were no other people on-board beside the crew and was not being used to smuggle illegal refugees.

“No further action was taken aboard the vessel,” the ABF said.

“It was frustrating because there was nothing we could do legally about the tobacco … we may know it was coming here and going to be sold illegally, but couldn’t prove it,” said a government source.

Surveillance of the Nami continued where it “loitered approximately 100 nautical miles off the coast of NSW, with both ABF officers and Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) officers maintaining regular contact with the ship’s master, including relating to fuel and provisions,” according to the ABF.

By January 22 the Nami had drifted Wollongong and when contacted again the captain said it was running critically low on fuel and provisions.

The captain was told head towards Port Kembla harbour where it anchored a few kilometres offshore on January 25 and 26 where the ABF, and Australian Federal Police again boarded the Nami.

“A search of the vessel was undertaken, with no border controlled drugs found. A large amount of tobacco and tobacco products were located, however there was insufficient information to determine the intent to import this product to mainland Australia,‘’ the ABF said.

“The vessel’s owner subsequently paid for fuel, food and additional provisions on board, before the MV Nami departed Australian waters,” they said.

The ship was monitored until it left Australian shores.

the ABF contacted a number of international law enforcement agencies about their suspicions relating to the MV Nami.

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