CAIRO: Egyptian authorities are searching for a missing businessman from Scotland whose yacht was found near the Egyptian coastal city of Marsa Alam.
Colin Finnie was on a solo voyage from Australia, traversing the Indian Ocean, to Port Ghalib, in the Southern Red Sea city of Marsa Alam.
His yacht, Simba, was discovered only 350 miles from his destination on Dec. 13 – six days after he last contacted his loved ones on Dec. 7.
The Egyptian Coastguard found the unmanned 45-foot-long yacht after it apparently had come into contact with a coral reef.
According to the Boat Watch website, his transponder – a device used to broadcast the location of vessels – had last "pinged" on 25 October, when it was at Christmas Island.
Finnie’s wife appealed to everyone with information on her husband to help her, after she expressed her concern in a post on Facebook.
She said: "My husband, Colin Finnie was heading towards Port Ghalib in the sailing boat Simba, a Nauticat 44.
"I lost contact with him last Saturday 7th when he was 300 [nautical] miles away from his destination. He was in storms and low on fuel.
"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."
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are supporting the family of a British man reported missing while sailing in the Red Sea and are in contact with Egyptian authorities."
