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If the sea were influenced by public support and social media, the four missing sailors on the lost Beneteau 40.7, Cheeki Rafiki,  would be home with their families by now. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

One week ago today, the captain of the yacht, Cheeki Rafiki,  reported that they boat was taking on water in the Atlantic roughly 600 miles off Cape Cod.  Contact with the yacht was lost of Friday. On Saturday, the container ship, Maersk Kure, spotted a capsized vessel, generally of the same size as the sailing boat. The boat’s keel had broken off and there was no sign of anyone aboard, so the ship continued without stopping.  On Sunday, the Coast Guard called off the search.

After receiving close to 200,000 petitions and considerable pressure from the public, the US Coast restarted their search for the missing Britons.  The missing sailors are Andrew Bridge, 21, James Male, 23, Paul Goslin, 56 and Steve Warren, 52.  So far the searching has found nothing.  The RAF is supporting the effort, sending a C130 Hercules aircraft to look for the missing men.  A flotilla of roughly 40 private yachts coordinated by the World Cruising Club ARC Europe are also searching for the lost yacht but have been hampered by poor weather.  Merchant vessels are also reported to be searching for the missing sailors.

Crew of an Austrian catamaran, Malisi, has reported spotting debris in the search area. They reported seeing a plank of wood – possibly a floorboard or part of a table – and a plastic board in the northern sector of the 130-square-mile search area.  The captain of the charter yacht said that the information had been passed on to the U.S Coast Guard. There is no confirmation that the debris was from the missing yacht.