Mini sailor missing

Alexandre Scrizzi's yacht has sailed past Salvador de Bahia

The organisers of the Charente Maritime Bahia Transat 6.50 are concerned for the safety of French skipper Alexandre Scrizzi, 43, who's yacht, Phoenix, has been sailing an erratic course since Sunday morning and has since overshot the finish at Salvador de Bahia. The latest sched from the race has Phoenix 310 miles to the southwest of Salvador de Bahia.

The organisers have altered the Brazilian rescue authorities and yesterday morning hired a plane to go and investigate. The Brazilian rescue authorities have since scrambled the Brazilian Air Force. On this second flight they reported seeing something in the cockpit. A Brazilian ship is expected to arrive at Phoenix this afternoon.

It should be remembered that while Minis are fully equipped with EPIRBs and other safety equipment to broadcast distress messages in an emergency, their two way radio communication is limited to VHF and they carry no two way satellite communications. This aspect we hope will be re-appraised following this incident.