Kaz II

The "Kaz II", dubbed "the ghost yacht", is a 9.8 meter catamaran [Citation | last = Queensland Police Service | title = Search continues for missing men, off Townsville | date = 2007-04-20 | year = 2007 | url = http://www.police.qld.gov.au/News+and+Alerts/Media+Releases/2007/04/Search+continues+for+missing+men+off+Townsville.htm | accessdate = 2008-07-18 ] which was found drifting 88 nautical miles (160 km) off of the northern coast of Australia on April 18, 2007. The fate of its three-man crew remains unknown, and the circumstances in which they disappeared are mysterious and have been compared to that of the Mary Celeste.Citation | last = Reuters | title = Australian "ghost ship" mystery puzzles rescuers | date = 2007-04-20 | year = 2007 | url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070420/wl_nm/australia_yacht_dc_2 | accessdate = 2007-04-21 ] Citation | last = BBC | title = 'Ghost yacht' found off Australia | date = 2007-04-20 | year = 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6574547.stm | accessdate = 2007-04-21 ] Citation | last = AAP | title = Search for yachtsmen called off
date = 2007-04-22 | year = 2007 | url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/search-for-yachtsmen-called-off/2007/04/22/1177180461201.html | accessdate = 2007-04-22 ] Citation | last = ORF | title = Police abandoned hope (German) | date = 2007-04-22 | year = 2007 | url = http://www.orf.at/070422-11516/index.html | accessdate = 2007-04-22 ] Citation | last = Sydney Morning Herald | title = Cruel sea refuses to give up its secrets | date = 2007-05-05 | year = 2007 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cruel-sea-refuses-to-give-up-its-secrets/2007/05/04/1177788400656.html | accessdate = 2007-05-08 ]

Disappearance of crew

According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Kaz II departed from Airlie Beach on April 15, 2007, and was heading for Townsville on the first leg of a journey that was to take it around Northern Australia to Western Australia.

The first indication that there was a problem came on the April 18, when it was spotted by a helicopter, which reported that the boat was drifting in the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef, and that its crew were potentially in distress. On April 20 Maritime authorities caught up with the boat and boarded it. They found that the three man crew were missing in circumstances which they described as being "strange".

:"What they found was a bit strange in that everything was normal, there was just no sign of the crew" Jon Hall, Queensland's Emergency Management office.

In a statement delivered on the day of the boarding, officials with the Queensland Emergency Management office revealed that the yacht was in serviceable condition and was laid out as if the crew were still on board. Food and flatware set out on the table, a laptop computer set up and turned on, and the engine was still running. Officials also confirmed that the boat's emergency systems, including its radio and GPS were fully functional, and that it still had its full complement of life jackets. According to news sources, there was even a small boat still hoisted on the back of the boat and the anchor was up. The only signs, other than the disappearance of the crew, that were out of the ordinary, were damage to one of the boat's sails and that there was no life raft on board (it is unknown whether there ever was one onboard).

Forensic examination

On Friday April 20 the Kaz II was towed into the Townsville port for forensic examination And on April 21 Police Sergeant Bardell and Sergeant Molloy searched the ship for signs of foul play or third party involvement, no evidence for this was found. They found the cabin to be overall neat and tidy apart from some magazines, a piece of newspaper and a winecask which were lying on the floor. However it was later determined that these items ended up on the floor while the ship was being towed to shore. In the sink were a few butterknifes and on a bench in the galley a plastic sheath of fishing knives was found. They did not appear to be used recently. Under Batten's bed in a sealed container the investigators found a firearm and some ammunition, none of which was apparently missing. In a drawer they found an additional single bullet of the same caliber.

After analyzing data about the Kaz II's course from the ship's GPS system, police say that on the morning of her departure from Airlie Beach the ship was steered in northeast direction, into an area where squalls and rough seas were building. On that same day, late in the afternoon, the GPS data shows her adrift.Citation | last = TimesOnline | title = Rescuers call off the search for ‘Mary Celeste’ crewmen | date = 2007-04-23 | year = 2007 | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1690635.ece | accessdate = 2007-10-16 ]

The investigators also recovered a video recording that showed footage taken by the crew during their trip. It revealed someclues as to the men's last day. The last footage was filmed on April 15 at 10:05am local time, shortly before the men disappeared, it was filmed by James Tunstead and among other things it showed:

*Batten was at the helm
*Peter Tunstead is sitting on the aft stairway of the boat, he is fishing
*A long white rope can be seen trailing behind the boat
*The engine is not running
*Fenders can be seen hanging from safety rails on both sides of the boat
*The camera is panned 360 degrees and shows islands and surroundings, this helped investigators pinpoint the exact location of the ship
*The sea is choppy and none of the men are wearing a life jacket
*Tunstead's shirt and glasses are not in the place where they were later found

earch

Search and rescue efforts began on Wednesday April 18 and Australian search and rescue AusSAR send a navy aircraft to search in the vicinity of the vessel in an effort to locate the missing yachtmen. At the same time Bowen Voluntary Marine Rescue launched a coastal and island search. At night an aircraft with infrared capability was used to search the reefs and cays. The next day a full scale search and rescue effort was launched involving Volunteer Rescue Units from several towns as well as the Townville's coastguard, 2 rescue helicopters, 9 airplanes and two commercial vessels. Data from Kaz II's GPS system was also retrieved and analyzed in order to help narrowing the search area. Dr. Paul Luckin, a survivaltime expert was consulted and he concluded that it was unlikely that the men were still alive if they were still in the water as they had probably gone overboard 3-4 days earlier. The teams still had hope that the men could have reached land and continued searching until 4pm on April 21 when the air-and-sea search for the three crew members was called off.Another coastline search was launched on Monday April 23 after some new information had come in but the search proved fruitless and was called off on April 25.

Official investigation

On August 4th 2008 an inquest into the men's disappearance began in the Townsville Coroner's Court. [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/04/2322790.htm] The inquest was led by Queensland state coroner Michael Barnes and focused on whether the men were dead, the circumstances surrounding their disappearance and if the search for the missing men was adequate.In total 27 witnesses were called to testify, some of them saw the ship on its fateful voyage and helped authorities to reconstruct the chain of events. (See the official report under External links for details on these witnesses) [cite news | title='Ghost ship' inquiry begins | date=August 4 2008 | url =http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24122719-29277,00.html | work =news.com.au | accessdate = 2008-09-10 ]

Hearings

On one of the hearings, Jennifer Batten, testified that her husband Derek Batten was an experienced and careful yachtsman, had been around boats for 25 years and her husband was acutely aware of the need for safety. He had earned his recreational skippers ticket and a qualification in marine radio. Every summer they travelled together to Rottnest Island on various motorboats. But the Kaz II was their first sailboat. After they bought it, the couple took a six week sailing course and then sailed the Kaz II around the Whitsundays twice. Apart from a minor problem with a propellor the trips were without problems. cite news | title=Missing sailor's wife gives evidence at coronial inquest | date=August 4 2008 | url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/04/2323536.htm | work =ABC News | accessdate = 2008-09-10 ] cite news | title=Ghost ship captain was careful: inquest | date=August 4 2008 | url =http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=2&ContentID=88984 | work =The West Australian | accessdate = 2008-09-10 ]

Mrs. Batten also stated that the original plan was to sail the Kaz II to Fremantle as a couple but that Mr. Batten was worried that just two people aboard might not be safe and decided to take his neighbour Peter Tunstead and his brother Jim Tunstead with him instead. The trip was planned in advance for 10-12 weeks and discussed daily, as they plotted routes with the help of a computer. "They allowed themselves six to eight weeks to get back to Fremantle, but because Des and Jimmy were retired, it didn't really matter how long they took . . . They didn't want to sail at night for safety (reasons)," she said , and they planned to stay reasonably close to the shore. Although her husband was taking medications for high cholesterol, mild diabetes and had suffered a heart attack at age 50, she believed that he was well enough and fit for the journey.

Also heard was Graeme Douglas, who was the previous owner of the Kaz II, and had who sold the boat to Batten.He stated the boat was in good condition when it was sold and had met the men on the night before they set sail. He also helped the men plan part of their route and was surprised to see that according to the police, the men had deviated from their planned route that was programmed in their GPS system.cite news|title=Previous yacht owner testifies at missing trio's inquest|date=August 5 2008|url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/05/2324661.htm|work =ABC News|accessdate = 2008-09-10]

Gavin Howland, the skipper of a commercial fishing vessel the "Jillian", testified that on April 16 2007 while fishing on a reef off Bowen he and his crew saw a white yacht with a torn sail. It was drifting sideways between the reefs through a narrow passage, at up to 3 knots an hour, in north-north-eastern direction along with the current. He came within 50 meters of the boat but was unable to spot anyone on board. This was two days before the coastguard spotted the Kaz II adrift off the coast of Townsville and the day after authorities believe the men went missing. He found it odd that a sailboat was in this area because it's noted for it's shallow water and rocks. He did not attempt to contact the boat or the authorities, he told the inquest that it did not occur to him that the crew of the yacht might be in distress and went on to say: "It did seem a bit strange to me but I just have this rule that no one goes near another vessel,"cite news|title=Ghost ship not a crime scene: police officer|date=August 7 2008|url =http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/ghost-ship-not-a-crime-scene-police-officer/2008/08/06/1217702134198.html|work =Brisbane Times|accessdate = 2008-09-10] cite news|title=Coronial inquest into missing catamaran crew continues|date=August 6 2008|url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/06/2326362.htm|work =ABC News|accessdate = 2008-09-10]

Sergeant Paul Molloy, who was one of the three forensic police officers that examined the Kaz II after it was towed back to shore in April 2007, told the inquest that he did not believe the men had met with foul play. He spent several hours combing the ship for signs of a struggle but found no evidence that anyone beside the three men crew of the boat had been inside. "We came to the conclusion the boat itself was not a crime scene," he told the inquest. After questions by Peter Tunstead's widow Frances, as to why the police did not check for fingerprints, Sgt. Molloy said his years of experience told him it was unnecessary. "We were there for a long time, we pulled the boat apart and found nothing untoward,. . . If there was any indication (of foul play) we would have taken every measure we could to examine that boat."citeweb|title=Official Inquest Report|date=08 August 2008|url =http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/Tunstead-Tunstead-Batten20080821.pdf|work =Office of the State Coroner|accessdate = 2008-09-10|format =PDF]

Detective Sergeant Graham Patch said at the inquest that the police found a video recorder inside the boat. On it was footage taken by the three crewmembers on the morning that they went missing. As the video was played in the courtroom Patch explained that land masses on the video helped officials narrow down the search area for the missing crewmen.cite news|title=Yacht inquest views footage from missing crew|date=04 August 2008|url =http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/04/2323920.htm|work =ABC News|accessdate = 2008-09-10]

Conclusions

State coroner Barnes admits in his official report that he "can not be so definitive about the circumstances under which the deaths occurred." However, based on the eyewitness accounts, the video found on board and the state of the yacht in which it was found the report proposes the following scenario:

On Sunday April the 15th 2007 at 10:05am, the Kaz II was sailing in the vicinity of George Point. Up to that moment everything was going as planned, but in the following hour their situation changed dramatically. The men hauled in the white rope that was trailing behind the boat and bundled it up on the foredeck, possibly to dry, next to the locker it was normally kept in. For unknown reasons, James Tunstead then took off his tee shirt and glasses and placed them on the backseat. The report says that since the men's fishing lure was found entangled in the ship's port side rudder, an obvious explanation would be that one of them tried to free the lure and fell overboard while doing so. As standing on the boat's 'sugar scoop' platform (a platform at the back of the ship close to the waterline) while the boat is moving is perilous and falling in the water is easy, while getting back on board almost impossible. One of the other men then came to the rescue of his friend, while Batten, still on board, started the motor of the ship and realized he had to drop the sails before he could go back for his friends.As he left the helm to drop the sails, a deviation of the ship's course or wind direction could have easily caused a jibe, swinging the boom across the deck and knocking Batten overboard. This could even have happened before Batten was able to untie and throw out the lifering to his friends. A blue coffeemug found near the lifering may support this. Since the boat was travelling before wind and at a speed of 15 knots, it would be out of reach of the men within seconds. The report states: "From that point, the end would have been swift. None of them was a good swimmer, the seas were choppy; the men would have quickly become exhausted and sunk beneath the waves..."

The report rules out foul play and staged disappearance.

Other explanations

Several alternative explanations have been put forward for the crew's disappearance.

According to authorities in Townsville, the weather had been windy and the sea had been rough between the time that the Kaz II departed and was found drifting. This led authorities to speculate that the crew may have experienced some form of sudden difficulty during rough weather and gone overboard. However, one issue with this theory is that contents of the cabin, including a table, did not seem to have been disrupted in any way. Relatives of the missing men, say that the condition that the boat was found in make this unlikely, and point to discrepancies such as the fact that the men's fishing lines and laundry were set out, and that their life jackets were still stowed, which indicated that they weren't experiencing rough weather at the time of their disappearance.Citation | last = BBC | title = Ghost yacht 'kidnapping' theory | date = 2007-04-24 | year = 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6589623.stm | accessdate = 2007-04-25 ]

Also noted was the fact that the Kaz II was found with its fenders out, leading to speculation that the Kaz II may have docked with another, as yet unknown, vessel that the crew might have willingly or unwillingly transferred to.

::"'The fenders were out on their yacht, and the only reason you ever put them out is when another boat comes aside or if you come to rest against a wharf" Hope Himing, niece of boat owner Derek Batten.

In answer to speculation, Townsville police stated that small crafts commonly leave their fenders out at all times, making it impossible to draw any definitive conclusions from them.

Derek Batten, the ship's owner, is said to have bought the Kaz II a year before and sailed it a couple of times since then. The Tunsteads were not nautical novices either, since they sailed together from the time they were 18 years old, and even worked in the radio rooms of the Volunteer Sea Rescue. The last known contact of the family members with any of the crew was made one and a half hour after it left port, when one crew member was contacted by his wife.

Volunteer radio operator Ivan Ormes recorded that the Kaz II radioed in at 6.45pm on April 15, the evening of their departure, giving its position as George Point. This is the last known contact with the Kaz II. Ms Grey says that it should have take them only 2 1/2 hours to go to George Point and that it is unclear what took them so long to arrive there. One explanation is that they were just fishing the whole day. But another explanation is that they had problems with their GPS, since they already tried to set off on April 14, but were forced to return due to not getting the GPS working. That was because of a user error and it was easily fixed, so the Kaz II set off early the next day.

Other hypotheses include that the boat became stuck on a sandbar near George Point, where the boat's last radio message was made. When the men jumped overboard to push it free, a gust of wind blew and the boat drifted away, leaving them stranded. This would explain why towels were left out on the deck.

Another hypothesis is that one crew member may have been washed over by a freak wave and that the others were lost trying to rescue him. [TimesOnline (2007-04-22) [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1687274.ece Freak wave blamed for ghost yacht] Retrieved on 2007-06-03)]

Crew

The Kaz II had a three-man crew, all of whom were residents of Perth, Western Australia. Australian media named them as:

* Derek Batten, (56)
* Peter Tunstead (69)
* James Tunstead (63)

ee also

* Unexplained disappearances
* List of people who have disappeared
* Ghost ship
* "Mary Celeste"

External links

* [http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/Tunstead-Tunstead-Batten20080821.pdf Official Inquest Report]

References