A twenty-seven foot yacht which left Newlyn on December 22 has been found deserted and floating in the ocean 180 miles west of Portugal.David Cartwright, 53, left the fishing port for a solo voyage to the West Indies in his vessel called Culros.

James Instance, Falmouth Coastguard, said the Suffolk skipper's arrival in Madeira was reported as being overdue on January 30.

"We started to make investigations with the Spanish and Caribbean authorities," he said. "But there was no sighting of the vessel until two days ago, on May 30, when it was found in the middle of the Atlantic with nobody on board."

According to the log book on board the final entry was made by Mr Cartwright on January 8.

"It would appear that something had gone wrong and he has gone overboard," said the coastguard.

"It had been 22 days before the alarm had been raised. He was an experienced sailor but this was his first single-handed sail."

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN 

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