Hopes of finding missing fisherman fading

Despite an extensive search operation‚ hopes of finding a fisherman who has been missing in the sea off-shore of Gansbaai in the Western Cape since Saturday night are fading fast‚ the National Sea Rescue Institute says.

39-year-old Jacob Jansen van Vuuren from Mossel Bay was reported missing after he called some friends to inform them that the single outboard motor on his three-metre crayfish bakkie (small open fishing boat) had developed mechanical problems.

The NSRI said on Monday evening that a police dive unit had been briefed and that police had opened a missing persons report for investigation.

Family of the missing man were also being kept briefed and updated.

According to the man’s friends‚ he said he was 1.5 nautical miles off-shore of Danger Point‚ Gansbaai.

“An extensive search by NSRI Hermanus during Saturday night and on Sunday‚ joined on Sunday by NSRI Simonstown and NSRI Gordons Bay‚ included 3 sea rescue craft and a fixed wing aircraft that was kindly volunteered by David Austin of African Wings‚ Stanford‚ and ships in the search area are being requested by a Telkom Maritime Radio Services radio broadcast to keep a sharp look out but the search has yielded no sign of the missing fisherman.

“Sea conditions were rough with wind speeds increasing to 40 knots Easterly and 4 to 5 metre swells in the search area during the search operation‚” NSRI said.

“Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) assisted in plotting a search area taking into account wind speeds and direction‚ sea drift and swells‚ and by Sunday late afternoon a search area had extended to some 29 nautical miles from where the fisherman was first believed to have been on Saturday afternoon.

“With only a life-jacket and no additional safety gear onboard the small open boat the cellphone battery appeared to have died by the time NSRI Hermanus were activated‚” NSRI said.

It said it would continue to keep a vigil along the Cape Point coastline and requested ships at sea to continue to be on the look-out for the missing fisherman.