The Round Ireland Speed Record champion, the MOD 70 trimaran Oman sail continues to search for a missing crew member lost overboard.
Mohammed Al Alawi, 26-year-old crew member of MOD70 trimaran Musandam-Oman Sail remains missing this evening following a Man Overboard incident last Wednesday 7 October in the early hours of the morning, pre-dawn, just south of Pula in Croatia while the MOD70 was en route from France to Trieste in Italy for the Barcolana.
Musandam-Oman Sail - flagship of the Sultanate of Oman - successfully completed a Round Ireland speed sailing record attempt last May taking three hours off the 22–year–old record, breaking Steve Fossett's long standing record of 44 hours with Lakota in 1993. Her crew that did not include the missing sailor were based at the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.
Day four and the extensive search for Mohammed continues and the search area has extended into Italian waters; the search team has been a mix of Oman Sail, private search and rescue companies and the Croatian coastguard, using helicopters, airplanes, and boats including Musandam-Oman Sail. Today's inclement weather of strong easterly winds, limited visibility and rain was not conducive to a detailed search.
Ahmed Al Alawi, father of Mohammed, who is in Croatia with the team said "We [the family] extend our deep gratitude to all who are supporting this search, especially the Omani Government, the staff of Oman Sail, Her Excellency The Sultanate of Oman's Honorary Consul of Croatia and the Croatian Coastguard who have been exemplary. We have been inundated with heart-felt messages of support which are much appreciated." The search continues.
Search updates can be found here
