Missing sailors tell U.S. Coast Guard they're safe, heading back to Virginia
Two people reported overdue after deciding to return to Virginia in their weather-damaged sailboat instead of continuing their trip to Portugal's Azores are safely headed home, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday. Virginia Beach natives Yanni Nikopoulos and Dale Jones, both 65, contacted the Coast Guard on Friday saying they were safe and on course for Hampton, Virginia.
They were about 80 miles east of Chincoteague, but weren't in distress and didn't request assistance, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
They had left Hampton on June 8 on the 36-foot sailboat Kyklades for the Azores Islands, a mid-Atlantic archipelago about 800 miles west of Portugal, the Coast Guard said.
But they called Jones' daughter last week to say the boat had been damaged and they were heading back to Virginia. They were about 460 miles east of Virginia Beach at that point, and no further communication was received, the Coast Guard said.
Five anxious days passed before the daughter called the Coast Guard, saying she hadn't heard from them and was concerned for their well-being. The Coast Guard reported them missing on Tuesday.
"We are extremely happy to learn Yanni and Dale are found and are safe," James Cifers, operations unit watchstander for the Coast Guard's Fifth District Command Center, said Friday. "It is truly wonderful the pair will be reunited with their friends and family soon."
The Coast Guard said Friday that the boat had reportedly been damaged after it was hit by lightning, requiring the pair to rig a spare sail to return to Virginia.
The Coast Guard said it wouldn't provide information about when or exactly where the pair expected to arrive in Virginia.