The 3-man crew was nowhere to be found though! The Kaz II left Airlie Beach, Australia on April 15, 2007. It was bound for Townsville and then on to Western Australia. On board was the yacht’s owner, Derek Batten, and his neighbors, Peter and James Tunstead. On April 18th, a helicopter spotted the boat floating near the Great Barrier Reef and believed that it might be in distress. On April 20th, maritime authorities caught up with the boat and boarded it to make sure everything was OK.
Everything was, except for the fact that the crew was missing. There was not sign of Derek, Peter or James. The authorities searched the boat and found nothing else amiss. Flatware was laid out on the table, a laptop was still running and all the life jackets were still there. The authorities towed the boat back to port where it went under extensive investigations by authorities. No explanation for the crew’s disappearance could be found, though.
A search and rescue effort was launched to find the missing men. They were never found. A hearing was held and multiple witnesses were called to try and find out what had happened to the crew. However, no definitive conclusions were ever reached. Some believe that the men were accidentally knocked overboard and unable to get back on the boat. We may never know.