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The family of Anders Mosteid is shattered over the disappearance of the yacht, Lady Domina and their son along with it. Presumably, on April 1st, 2013, Lady Domina weighed anchor from a harbor on the Island of St. Martin on her way to Norway. She was to stop at the Azores en route.
The word "supposedly weighed anchor" applies here because no one has come forward saying they witnessed the 75 foot home-built sailboat weigh anchor. No one has come forward and said they heard any VHF call throughout Lady Domina's presumed route. No boat, ship or agency has admitted hearing a word from Lady Domina or any of her five member crew since April 1st, 2013. As far as we know, not a single person has put on their wet suit to check the anchorage where the Lady Domina was last seen.
Part of the problem with the disappearance of any yacht is the "leave me alone" attitude in the cruising community. Many cruisers are "out there" for more reasons than their love for salt air. Part of the cruising lifestyle is a sailor's desire to be off of the grid. When sailors talk to an outsider about what they know of a fellow sailor, it is kind of like ratting on someone. Sailors are a closed mouthed-group outside of the community. They have every right to maintain their privacy by the thin sailing line.
Except when it comes to the investigation of a missing yacht. At some point the right of privacy and the mutual respect sailors have for keeping the gossip within the community, and away from the families, must give way to the right of potential survivors. On chance they are still "out there", don't they need for every possible eye-ball to be scanning the horizon for a lost Lady Domina? There is a need for every single sailor and every tourist and every sailor's mom and every tourist's mom to be looking for the Lady Domina. It does not matter if that is someone watching the surf for a cushion marked LD, or for a crew to be scanning the horizon wherever they are, it all may count. We should look in all the right places. When that does not work, we should look in the LEAST likely places. That is not happening.
In fact, the Lady Domina story, along with another lost yacht, the Grain de Soleil story, have not been told in the American press. A thorough internet search yields a hand-full of posts on various blogs. There is the mention on Noonsite and other distress boards. Fortunately, Tore Christiansen sounded the alarm by translating Norwegian posts into English and re-posting inquiries on English boards. More than that, not much has been said. When we eliminate the English community from the internet search grid we are eliminating a large population of people who could lend a hand if they only knew about the disappearances.
Unlike the Lady Domina, an EPIRB signal was received for the missing Grain de Soleil. What that means is we have a later known position for the Grain de Soleil crew. It also means that crew may be in dire need to be found.
PLEASE INFORM US of any knowledge you have about the missing yachts and the people who are on them. We would like to have pictures, anecdotes, the date of your most recent conversation and anything else you can tell us about the missing yachts and the people who gave those yachts life. We are investigating, to the best of our ability, with limited resources. We are also finally sounding the alarm in the American press. Our goal is to keep this plight fresh in the minds of as many people as we can in hopes something will come of it.
Anders Mosteid, with permission and respect from a family member who asked to remain nameless.
Part of the problem with the disappearance of any yacht is the "leave me alone" attitude in the cruising community. Many cruisers are "out there" for more reasons than their love for salt air. Part of the cruising lifestyle is a sailor's desire to be off of the grid. When sailors talk to an outsider about what they know of a fellow sailor, it is kind of like ratting on someone. Sailors are a closed mouthed-group outside of the community. They have every right to maintain their privacy by the thin sailing line.
Except when it comes to the investigation of a missing yacht. At some point the right of privacy and the mutual respect sailors have for keeping the gossip within the community, and away from the families, must give way to the right of potential survivors. On chance they are still "out there", don't they need for every possible eye-ball to be scanning the horizon for a lost Lady Domina? There is a need for every single sailor and every tourist and every sailor's mom and every tourist's mom to be looking for the Lady Domina. It does not matter if that is someone watching the surf for a cushion marked LD, or for a crew to be scanning the horizon wherever they are, it all may count. We should look in all the right places. When that does not work, we should look in the LEAST likely places. That is not happening.
Photo Appeared in Danish Press
In fact, the Lady Domina story, along with another lost yacht, the Grain de Soleil story, have not been told in the American press. A thorough internet search yields a hand-full of posts on various blogs. There is the mention on Noonsite and other distress boards. Fortunately, Tore Christiansen sounded the alarm by translating Norwegian posts into English and re-posting inquiries on English boards. More than that, not much has been said. When we eliminate the English community from the internet search grid we are eliminating a large population of people who could lend a hand if they only knew about the disappearances.
Unlike the Lady Domina, an EPIRB signal was received for the missing Grain de Soleil. What that means is we have a later known position for the Grain de Soleil crew. It also means that crew may be in dire need to be found.
PLEASE INFORM US of any knowledge you have about the missing yachts and the people who are on them. We would like to have pictures, anecdotes, the date of your most recent conversation and anything else you can tell us about the missing yachts and the people who gave those yachts life. We are investigating, to the best of our ability, with limited resources. We are also finally sounding the alarm in the American press. Our goal is to keep this plight fresh in the minds of as many people as we can in hopes something will come of it.
To that extent, we ask you to re-post this piece in your local yachting bulletin boards.
Lady Domina, Left
DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON THIS OR ANY OTHER MISSING YACHT?
DO YOU HAVE SAILING VIDEOS YOU WANT US TO PUBLISH?
SEND TO:
US
If the video is too big to send by regular email, let us know and we will send you our DROP BOX.
Meanwhile, I can tell you, I had a very difficult conversation with the father of Anders Mosteid the other day. I sat at my computer copying and pasting a grieving fathers words into google translate, and typing my own words into a translator for a copy-post into the chat box in reply. I say difficult because Mr. Mosteid was so like my father. What his son Anders did, answered a want-ad for crew-wanted, hen hitched a ride on a yacht Anders knew nothing about, was so like me. To be clear, that is not testimony about anyone else on Lady Domina or the yacht itself. It is only to say, I empathize.
Some of the best yachting survival stories of all time are about people stranded in the vast Atlantic ocean. In nearly every story that got written, the main character survives, often after everyone else had given up hope. The Lady Domina may have been short on high-tech rescue equipment, it was not reported to be especially short on water or food. When one gives up hope, what is there left? The families of the missing sailors, in fact, the families of all sailors, deserve nothing less hope.
This youth is one of 3 Mexican fishermen who spent 281 days at sea.
Lest I forget, there is yet another missing boat. Tore advised me of the Ora Del, missing
Ora Del Missing
Their boat was in winter storage in La Paz,Mexico in the Golfo de California from where they headed into the Pacific bound for Australia in early April this year and was last heard from by Winlink satellite email 27 April.
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE MISSING YACHTS, PLEASE:
1. Notify authorities;
2. Notify Tore Christiansen;
3. Please notify us!
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