No sign of yacht

Press, 14 November 1977, Page 1

No sign of yacht

From JOHN ROSS in London

Fears are growing for the safety of a lone yachtswoman, Mrs Naomi James, aged 28, of Rotorua. She left Dartmouth, in England, two months ago, hoping to become the first woman to sail non-stop around the world singlehanded. But nothing has been heard from her 17m yacht Express Crusader for the last four weeks. Her last radio contact with the London “Daily Express,” which is sponsoring her, was in October, when she reported that her

radio batteries were running low. Ten days ago ships off the West African coast were asked to watch for the yacht, but no sighting has been reported. A “Daily Express” spokesman said in London that it was assumed Mrs James was having battery problems and was unable to make radio contact. “At. the same time we are concerned that there has been no sighting, and we have renewed our appeals to ships in the area to let us know if they sight the yacht,’.’ he said. Mrs James had never

sailed solo before setting out on her epic voyage, and had her first taste of the tiller two years ago, when she married Rob James, aged 30, who is skipper of Great Britain II in the “Round the World” race.

The couple had intended to keep in daily radio touch, but Mr James, whose yacht is now heading for Auckland, has not heard from his wife for several weeks, either. If all is well aboard the Express Crusader, she should arrive off Cape Town about the end of this month.