nobody aboard
p. 32 · Read in the full issue
"Wakatoru" found: nobody aboard
The trimaran Wakatoru, which had been missing for three months, was spotted by the GEIC trader Moanaraoi in late November 320 miles north north-east of Lord Howe Island.
She was floating upside down and there was no trace of the eight people who had sailed her our of Sydney. The 46-ft Wakatoru left Sydney on August 18 bound for Lord Howe Island.
On board were the owner builder, Mr. William Shute, 48, his wife, Mary, 45, their daughters, Jeanne, 16, and Rosamund, 14, son Richard, 7, and three crewmembers, Miss Valerie Quirk, 32, Miss Diana McNeill, 22, and Mrs. Sally Scales, 28.
The master of the Moanaraoi, Captain P. King, said that although it had not been pos sible to right the trimaran, a thorough search of it had been made. There were a number of lifejackets on board and a life craft which had been inflated inside the craft. The trimaran appeared to have been capsized for a long time.
At last report, relatives of the crew of the Wakatoru were arranging to charter a tug to tow the trimaran to Brisbane or Sydney.