A Scottish businessman went missing after setting off on a 5,000-mile sailing trip, prompting authorities to begin a search for him.
Colin Finnie's yacht - which goes by the name Simba - was reportedly found off the coast of Egypt. The 67-year-old man was crossing the Indian Ocean from Australia when he vanished during a solo voyage to Port Ghalib in Egypt. He lost contact with his family and authorities mid-journey; his family last heard from him on Dec. 7.
His wife has since reported that her husband was "in storms and low on fuel" when she last spoke with him. The discovered yacht was found empty on Dec. 13 near Marsa Alam, a Red Sea resort town in Egypt. At the time of writing, authorities in Egypt were still continuously searching for the 67-year-old. His whereabouts are still unknown.
"I have been in contact with Foreign Office and Coastguard and the Egyptian authorities are actively looking for him. I know it's a long shot but I am trying everything. Sorry to post bad news," his wife wrote in a post shared in a community group on Facebook.
The site where the yacht was discovered is only 350 miles away from the man's planned destination in the North African country.
"We are supporting the family of a British man reported missing while sailing in the Red Sea and are in contact with Egyptian authorities," said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office, according to the BBC.
Sailing across the Indian Ocean
Sailors haven't had a good run with the Indian Ocean, unfortunately. In 2011, four American citizens were shot dead by Somali pirates who hijacked their yacht during their journey across the ocean. At the end of 2019, the ocean witnessed yet another murder when the captain of a Turkish cargo vessel was stabbed to death by the vessel's greaser.
This is not to say sailing is dangerous; in fact, recreational boating is twice as safe as driving a car. According to 2015 numbers, for every 100,000 people, five will die in a boat-related accident as opposed to the 11 who will die in a car-related one.