Relatives hold out hope for ‘Argentine sailors’

BUENOS AIRES: The four Argentine sailors disappeared in late August -- when a storm off Brazil’s southern coast knocked out their luxury yacht’s mast and rudder -- but their families believe they’re still alive.
“You can survive adrift for a year or more,” said Giovanna Benozzi, daughter of one and girlfriend of another of the four.
El Tunante II, a 12.5-meter vessel, “is made to float and remains adrift somewhere in the south Atlantic,” she told AFP.
“We’re calling for all merchant vessels, fishermen and sailors around the world to add their eyes” to the search, Benozzi said.
“It’s been more than four months, but there are stories of people who have survived longer,” Giovanni said.
Her optimism is based on the last communication from her father after the storm -- when he reported that, despite the damage, the hull was intact and the crew was all safe.
“We have not found any evidence to the contrary,” in the months since, she said, insisting that when a boat sinks some evidence -- bottles, a life vest -- turns up.
But spotting a mast-less sailboat in the vast ocean is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. The lack of working communication devices compounds the difficulty -- and the drifting boat could be mistaken for simple debris.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. “Food and water are no problem,” Benozzi insisted. “We have strong hope.”
Her father Jorge, a 62-year-old opthamologist, and her boyfriend Mauro Cappuccio, 35, are both experienced sailors. As are the other two on the boat, Alejandro Vernero, a 62-year-old cardiologist, and Horacio Morales, also 62.