Last Sunday, around 20 p.m., the CROSSAG (Center for Research and Rescue and Operations in the Antilles-Guyana) reports an emergency at sea. A team from the SNSM is quickly assembled and four team members meet at the station to take their equipment before boarding the semi-rigid “Rescue Star”.
A witness and his partner reportedly called Anguilla police at 18:43 p.m. to report as many as four red distress rocket hits at sea, observed from their position on the beach at Cove Bay.
They explain that they saw navigation lights, a white “masthead” and a green one, when suddenly they see one, then three other flares, and the navigation lights go out suddenly.
They think it is a sailboat that is heading from Saint-Martin perhaps to the Virgin Islands. The witness exclaims: “That is a boat going down!” and he immediately draws an arrow in the sand in the direction of his observation from his position on the beach.
He immediately called the police in Anguilla, who sent a ground patrol because they had no ships available. It is only more than an hour later, at 20:00 p.m., that the police alert the CROSSAG, which then mandates several means to go investigate in the area.
In addition to our Rescue Star team; there is also the Sea Rescue on the Dutch side as well as a private means, the “tender” of a megayacht anchored in front of the Bay of Marigot, which participate in the search.
By communicating weather conditions, current, wind, waves etc. to CROSS, they assess the possible drift zone and each team has its search zone.
We all go back and forth and we scan 100% all areas. On the Rescue Star, we are equipped with thermal binoculars and the weather is good, good visibility (there is the moon, no wind, few waves) and yet we find nothing.
The helicopter from Guadeloupe joined us in the area around 23:00 p.m. He flies over all of our areas and beyond, but finds nothing either ...
No one in the water, no sign of oil, debris, nothing floating, nothing extraordinary. We speak directly (by telephone) to witnesses on several occasions. They stayed on the beach and try to help us by directing us in the direction where they saw this “sailboat” sink.
A Falcon flies over the area
After several hours of fruitless research and with our fuel reserves starting to go down, the CROSS gives “freedom of maneuver” to all the nautical means deployed so that they can return to their respective ports.
The Rescue Star returns to the quay at 01:15 a.m. and our team members go home, tired and worried, because sometimes finding nothing is worse since we don't know if someone is not always there in the water, desperately waiting for help.
In the early hours of the morning, a Falcon 250 research aircraft repeatedly flew over the area, but found no signs of distress. Nothing to report.
The research is finished but it remains a mystery. We therefore ask anyone with additional information regarding this disappearance to contact the CROSSAG on 196 (from the French side) or on 0696 70 92 92 or the SNSM of Saint Martin on 06 90 76 75 00. ”
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