Solo sailor missing off Mackay

2:54 AM Mon 22 Feb 2010 GMT
Rescue workers fear for the safety of a solo yachtsman who failed to arrive at Mackay for a training course on Monday.

An RACQ-CQ Rescue helicopter crew is searching the Digby Island area, 85km southeast of Mackay, in central Queensland, for the 7.3-metre yacht Tabasco.

The yacht sailed last Thursday from Yeppoon bound for Mackay about 350km to the north, but there has been no contact from the lone yachtsman.

The yacht's emergency beacon has not been activated.

The search will move on to the Bedwell group of islands and then on to the Duke Islands depending on fuel supplies.

by Daily Mercury/Sail-World