A 67-year-old Australian woman is feared to have died following a distress call from a yacht in the treacherous waters of the Mozambique Channel off the east coast of Africa.
Distress Call and Tragic Discovery
Deirdre “Cookie” Sibly, an experienced sailor from Port Lincoln, South Australia, had been voyaging with French national Pascal Mahe aboard his yacht, the Acteon. The pair departed from Reunion Island in June, intending to sail to South Africa. The situation turned grave on Wednesday evening, local time, when a distress signal was transmitted from their vessel in the channel between Madagascar and Mozambique.
A nearby container ship picked up the emergency call and alerted the French coastguard, who subsequently contacted Ms Sibly's family in Australia. The family spent Thursday and Thursday night tracking the cargo ship's progress. Crew from that ship attempted to make contact but saw no sign of life on the Acteon. They were later joined by another cargo vessel and a maxi yacht.
Experienced Sailors Lost
Sue Good, Ms Sibly's sister, received the devastating confirmation from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Friday morning. Sailors from the maxi yacht had managed to board the drifting Acteon and found a man and a woman deceased inside. The bodies are yet to be formally identified, and a family member may need to travel to Africa for the process.
Ms Good described her sister as a “very experienced” sailor who had been sailing for four decades and was “having the time of her life”. Her companion, Mr Mahe, had reportedly sailed solo around the world for about ten years. “For sure something very wrong happened,” Ms Good stated.
Slow Investigation and Repatriation Process
As of Monday, the yacht was reportedly still adrift under full sail, with the bodies on board, and believed to be under satellite tracking. Officials from South Africa and Mauritius are working with French authorities on the investigation.
The family now faces a protracted and painful wait. Ms Good said the investigation and repatriation were “happening so slowly” and warned the process could take “months”. “We would like answers to lots of questions and the next thing is to get her back here,” she said.
Ms Sibly had last contacted her family on 19 November via the Polarsteps travel app, stating they were leaving port for a sail of at least 14 days towards Durban. “She knew it was dangerous, but she was really adventurous. She loved sailing, it was her whole world,” her sister recounted.
A DFAT spokesperson confirmed the department is “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian missing in the Mozambique channel” but declined to comment further due to privacy obligations.
