Australian authorities are assisting the family of Deirdre Sibly, a 67-year-old woman from Port Lincoln, South Australia, who is suspected to have died while sailing off the east coast of Africa. Sibly, known as 'Cookie', had departed from Reunion Island in June with her friend Pascal Mahe, a French national, on his yacht Acteon. They intended to sail to South Africa.
On Wednesday evening local time, a distress call was made from the yacht in the Mozambique channel, about halfway between Madagascar and Mozambique. The vessel was later found adrift with two deceased people on board. A container ship that picked up the call alerted the French coastguard, which contacted Sibly's family in Australia.
Sue Good, Sibly's older sister, said the container ship's crew tried 'everything' to contact those on board but saw no sign of life. A maxi yacht eventually boarded the Acteon, and a man and a woman were found deceased. The pair have not been formally identified, and a family member may need to travel to Africa to identify Sibly's body.
Good described both sailors as 'very experienced', adding that 'for sure something very wrong happened'. She said the yacht was still drifting with full sail and was being tracked by satellite. Officials in South Africa, Mauritius, and France are investigating.
Good expressed frustration at the slow pace of the investigation and repatriation, warning it could take months. She said her sister had been sailing for 40 years and was 'having the time of her life'. Sibly last contacted her family on 19 November, saying they would sail for at least 14 days. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance.
