Mike Slade’s stricken yacht has been located by the tug sent to retrieve her, but bad weather makes it unlikely that she will be salvaged before the end of the week.
It was feared that the yacht, Leopard of London, had sunk on Friday after the salvage tug failed to find her despite tracking the yacht’s distress beacon.
But John Bremner, who runs Slade’s Ocean Marine Yacht Management, said that the Leopard had been sighted 400 miles off the English south coast late on Friday afternoon.
“The tug is now with Leopard, but it will be at least another five days before the crew are able to get to her because of the bad weather,” he said.
He added that the yacht was still in danger of sinking. “The longer it takes to retrieve Leopard the greater the risk of her filling with water,” he said.
The £3m yacht, owned by Helical Bar managing director Mike Slade, was left rudderless and crewless 450 miles from land last Wednesday, when the crew abandoned ship during force eight gales. The yacht’s hull had been holed, and the crew reported that she was steadily taking in water.
EGi News 08/04/02
