Hamnet handles yacht distress signals

When the South African Radio League (SARL) was contacted on Thursday afternoon by the American coastguard about a distress signal received from the Queequeg II, Hamnet took immediate action.

They asked Alistair Campbell, ZS6MU, who runs the daily maritime mobile net, whether he had received any information. The operators of the maritime mobile network did not know of the yacht.

Alistair then contacted the Réunion coastguard, which initiated a search and rescue action.

The latest information from MRCC is that the yacht was found floating upside down. On Friday one survivor was picked up by a merchant vessel. Two other men apparently went overboard without life jackets.

Source: The South African Radio League