Upturned yacht left to its fate

The crew of the container ship which found what the authorities believe
is the up-turned hull of the racing yacht from which four British
sailors have gone missing said conditions were ‘too rough’ to launch a
rescue boat, the RYA reveal.

They also said the stricken hull was
so low in the water they did not believe anyone could be encapsulated
underneath like ocean yachtsman Tony Bullimore who survived in a
capsized hull for several days before being rescued back in the 1990s.

Meanwhile
the families of Andrew Bridge, 21, the skipper and 23-year-old James
Male, Paul Goslin, 56, and Steve Warren, 52, were pressing the US
Coastguard to resume their search.

The boat they were sailing
Cheeki Rafiki, a Beneteau First 40.7, was 620 miles east of Cape Cod in
the US on her way back to the UK after racing in Antigua Week.

It is thought the keel either fell or was torn off. Hopes they may have survived in a liferaft are fading.