A yacht with the remains of a lone sailor (60) on board, has sunk while it was being towed to Mossel Bay by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) on Sunday.

The sailor allegedly ignored warnings that his vessel, Panacea, is not seaworthy and set sail from Cape Town to Mossel Bay on Friday, August 12. His family alerted authorities last week that he did not reach his destination and that they have not been in contact with him.

The trip, which usually takes three to five days, was reported overdue on Thursday.

The yacht was spotted by a passing tanker about 35 nautical miles south east of Cape Agulhas on Friday, after an extensive search and rescue operation by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), the NSRI and the South African Air Force (SAAF).

No proof of life could be established by the tanker. An initial attempt by rescue teams to reach the yacht on Friday, had to be abandoned after 10 hours and almost no visibility.

On Saturday the NSRI reached the yacht by deploying a rescue swimmer from a helicopter. The sailor was found deceased on board.

Arrangements were made to have the vessel towed to Still Bay where provincial forensic pathology services would board the yacht and remove the body of the sailor.

According to the NSRI, the yacht sustained damage during inclement weather conditions at sea. After weather conditions worsened, they attempted to tow the vessel to Mossel Bay. However, the yacht took in water and sank about 20km from Mossel Bay.

The SAPS’ diving unit are currently investigating the possibility of getting the man’s body from the sunken yacht.