The relatives of a British sailor who vanished after his boat capsized off the southwest coast of France have expressed their profound grief over what they describe as a “sudden loss.”
Charles Todd, a 73-year-old father of five, issued a distress signal from his yacht on January 25th amid severe weather conditions caused by Storm Herminia in the Bay of Biscay.
In response to the emergency, a French air force helicopter was deployed to search for Mr. Todd, but they discovered his 12-meter yacht, the Tiger PA, in a severely damaged condition in the Bay of Biscay.
Mr. Todd’s family reported that the search efforts were halted in the early hours of January 26th when rescue teams could not find him.
As per the Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique, the distress signal was picked up roughly 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Lacanau around 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
During the rescue mission, French authorities indicated that a Portuguese cargo ship and a Spanish hospital vessel were redirected to assist in the search, along with the French navy.
However, at 01:33 (00:33 GMT) the next day, the Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique announced the search had been suspended “due to a lack of new information.”
In a heartfelt tribute, Mr. Todd’s daughter, Nadine Gowan, shared with the BBC that her father was en route to the Caribbean via the Canary Islands when the tragic incident occurred.
His family characterized him as a “loving, charismatic, and young-at-heart” individual who “embraced life fully.”
They further noted that Mr. Todd was born in Ghana but relocated to Manchester in his youth.
