Missing Hurley 22 caught in fishing nets
A missing yacht has been discovered sunk off Milford-on-Sea, Dorset, although no-one knows how it got there.
A fishing vessel caught the submerged Hurley 22 in its nets at 6.30pm yesterday and then joined lifeboats from Lymington and Yarmouth and a coastguard helicopter in searching the area for more than five hours.
While the search took place Solent Coastguard tracked down the yacht’s owners, who were on holiday in Tenerife, and learnt that the vessel, called Nicola, had disappeared from Keyhaven, Hampshire some time between September and mid-October.
Once it was clear that no people were at risk, the search was called off and police were alerted.
It is now the responsibility of the unfortunate owner to raise the boat from the seabed, especially if it is causing a navigational hazard, and the police are trying to ascertain exactly how it ended up there.
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Picture courtesy of Sailing Scenes.