Aussie Woman Falls Overboard From Yacht Near Phuket

[webfact]

Aussie woman falls overboard from yacht near Phuket

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- Friends of an Australian woman who fell overboard from a yacht on its way to Phuket last Thursday, and who is still missing, are puzzled as to how such an accident could have occurred.

Michelle Black, a friend of the woman, said Dr Gerald Goeden and his partner Carmel Brookes were sailing from Lankawai Island to Phuket aboard the yacht Moondancer when Ms Carmel fell overboard.

Ms Black said the couple set sail from the Langkawi Andaman Resort, where they live, on or about January 23.

"The Thai Navy have found the boat with Dr Gerald, so we have confirmation that this has actually happened, but we have no further details yet as to how or why. We cannot understand it as Gerry is a very experienced yachtsman. He was working on a coral reef project at the Andaman Resort Langkawi," Ms Black wrote.

"He and Carmel were taking a holiday from his work to go sailing for a few weeks and had been planning their trip for some time. Carmel had been very excited and happy about it. I am a close friend of hers and I cannot imagine how this could happen to her, as she is always so careful and has been sailing with Gerry many times before," Ms Black wrote.

"I do not know exactly where the boat was at the time, but one of our friends here who also sails, and has sailed together with them before, thought that they were not far from Koh Lanta. They actually received a distress call to their [the friends'] boat back here in Australia, which is how we were first alerted to this situation… The Thai Navy are still searching for her and as yet she has not been found."

The Phuket Gazette this afternoon contacted all three navy bases in the area, at Cape Panwa in Phuket, Koh Lanta in Krabi, and the Navy Base at Tap Lamu in Phang Nga.

Staff at all three bases said they had not been informed of the situation and were not aware of any search and rescue operations taking place in waters under their areas of control.

The Gazette has yet to confirm whether or not Navy vessels off the coasts of Trang or Satun are involved in a search effort.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle12237.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-02-08

[blackthorn2005]

Makes a change from a balcony fall but still sounds very suspicious!

[webfact]

Phuket Update: Sea search called off for missing Australian

Phuket Gazette

A Facebook photo of missing Australian Carmel Brookes, who is reported to have fallen overboard from the yacht Moondancer while en route to Phuket.

PHUKET: -- A sea search for an Australian woman reported to have fallen overboard from a yacht sailing to Phuket late last week was called off today.

News that a search was underway for Carmel Brookes, an Australian-born resident of Langkawi Island in Malaysia, was first reported to the Phuket Gazette by her close friend Michelle Black yesterday.

Ms Black was desperate for information about the search after learning from friends that Ms Brookes fell overboard from the yacht Moondancer while cruising off the coast of Trang on February 2.

Ms Brookes was sailing from Langkawi to Phuket with her companion Dr Gerald Goeden when vanished. The circumstances of how she came off the vessel remain unclear.

"We cannot understand it as Gerry is a very experienced yachtsman. He was working on a coral reef project at the Andaman Resort Langkawi," Ms Black wrote.

"He and Carmel were taking a holiday from his work to go sailing for a few weeks and had been planning their trip for some time. Carmel had been very excited and happy about it. I am a close friend of hers and I cannot imagine how this could happen to her, as she is always so careful and has been sailing with Gerry many times before," she added.

After several attempts to contact various Navy units yesterday, the Gazette was finally able to confirm today that the Thai navy had found Moondancer with Dr Goeden still aboard, but that a sea search involving Navy, Marine Police and Koh Rok National Park staff was called off today.

A Navy source said the search effort lasted almost a week, far more than the usual two days in such cases.

If the body of Ms Brookes is discovered at sea at a later date, Marine Police will be responsible for its recovery, the Navy source said.

"This is a tragedy that I cannot believe and my heart is breaking for losing one of my dearest ever friends... Carmel, I love you and I am wishing you are found sitting on a beautiful little beach somewhere safe, and that this is all just a nightmare," Ms Black wrote today.

Dr Goeden has been in telephone contact with Ms Brookes' relatives confirming that the accident took place, she added.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle12249.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-02-08

[laurentbkk]

very sad story , as a sailor myself I can tell boating accident could be the best for murder as no one can prove anything in anyway .,.... just hope its not the case here , I guess no one will even know the truth ..

[Jimjim]

very sad story , as a sailor myself I can tell boating accident could be the best for murder as no one can prove anything in anyway .,.... just hope its not the case here , I guess no one will even know the truth ..

Remind me not to go boating with you.

But in all seriousness, yes something "fishy" about this, for sure. Quite sad, really.

[Dap]

Even in fairly calm seas it can be very difficult to locate and maintain sight of an "overboard". Would make it even more so with only one other person onboard and piloting the craft.

[paulbrun]

Depending on the conditions at the time, visibility, day/night, wind, swell etc., it could have been quite difficult for one man to get the boat turned around quickly, while also keeping the MoB in sight. It is every sailors greatest fear, to lose a crew member overboard, and I feel for the skipper, and of course, the missing persons friends and family. Let's hope it was close enough to land for her to swim ashore, and eventually be found.

[TPI]

Experience tells me that a lone yachtsman, going about looking for someone overboard, has a hell of a job if there is any sort of sea running. If the woman has missed the safety rope or if he didn't have one out then it would be very long odds of being saved, especially if they weren't a strong swimmer!

[whybother]

I was sailing from Jomtien to Sattahip last year and one of the crew fell over board. We had to drop the spinnaker before we turned back to get him. We were doing about 7 to 8 knots in about 1 metre seas. With 5 or 6 on board it was still difficult to keep an eye on where he was. Being on your own it would be very difficult to turn the boat around AND keep an eye on the person in the water.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com