Topic: These people are probably on an Island fighting the "others".

[Pugnate]

source

Ghost yacht' found off Australia

A yacht has been found off Australia with its engine running and a table laid for dinner - but no sign of life.

Emergency services have launched a search for the three-man crew of a yacht found drifting off North Queensland, reports the BBC.

Twelve aircraft are now searching for the crew of the 40ft catamaran which is being dubbed "the ghost yacht".

"The engine was running, the computers were running, there was a laptop set up on the table which was running, the radio was working... and there was food and utensils set on the table ready to eat," said Jon Hall, a spokesman for Queensland's Emergency Management office.

"It was a bit strange."

All the vessel's sails were up, although one was badly shredded, and lifejackets were still on board.

An air and sea rescue operation has been launched to retrace the yacht's voyage, and pinpoint the search area.

The three-crew members are thought to have set sail for Townsville from Airlie Beach on Sunday.

Mr Hall said rescue workers had recovered the boat's global position system (GPS) device, which might give them more clues as to the crew's whereabouts.

"That will now enable us to track backwards where this yacht has actually been in the last few days, and we're hoping that can pinpoint the search area for the missing crew," he said.

I am sure they were attacked by Pirates... not the romance period type either.

[Cobra951]

Someone comes on board, kidnaps or drowns the occupants and leaves.  Piracy/hold for ransom/professional hit?  The laptop was still there, so that leads me to think it wasn't random.  The target, whatever it was, was known.  The only non-foul play I can think of is getting batted over by a swinging sail pole, but 3 of them?

[Jedi]

Think that's odd? Read on...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4035989a12.html

Another unmanned vessel has been discovered floating off the coast of Queensland.


The six-metre barnacle-encrusted fibreglass boat, which was on Sunday spotted in waters off the Sunshine Coast, is the second mystery vessel to be found in Queensland waters in less than a week.

Fisherman spotted the second boat about 30km off the coast of Caloundra.

The boat was found upturned and adrift, with the keys still in the ignition and a tank full of fuel.

Fishing gear and scuba diving equipment were retrieved from the vessel and both outboard motors were still intact.

Police are now searching for the owners of the boat, which is registered in Noumea.

The boat is believed to have been adrift for several months, and authorities believe it may have simply broken free from its moorings.

The discovery comes just one day after authorities called off the search for three men missing from a yacht found unmanned and adrift last Wednesday about 160km off Townsville.

The three crew members – skipper Derek Batten, 56, and brothers Peter and James Tunstead, aged 69 and 63, all from Perth – went missing some time after their 9.8-metre catamaran, KAZ II, left Shute Harbour at Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays the previous weekend.

Authorities called off the search on Sunday, but the trio's family members have refused to give up hope and spent yesterday unsuccessfully searching Airlie Beach and its surrounding islands.

There is a range of theories about what happened to the men.

One is that they fell overboard in rough seas.

Another is that another vessel came alongside and they boarded it, either willingly or unwillingly, as if they had been attacked by pirates.

Family members are hopeful the trio managed to swim to a nearby island and are awaiting rescue.

"That's our hope. That's where we're going to concentrate," James Tunstead's son Shane Webber told ABC radio.

"Maybe they've all got knocked over by the boom, or something happened at the back of the boat when they were fishing because we know they were fishing at the time by video footage we've seen from the Townsville police.

"That's about the only theories we can come up with at the moment."

[Pugnate]

Holy shit. I know its tragic, but I love a mystery.

Bermuda Triangle 2?

[Quemaqua]

My guess?  Cthulhu did it.

[idolminds]

Thats...awesome.

[angrykeebler]

This reminds me of that Venture Bros. quote

Hank: Brock, if pirates really exist, I mean, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy could even be real, right? It's like, all bets are off!
Brock: Hank, nobody ever said pirates don't exist.
Hank: So you agree with me that this is impossible.

[Quemaqua]

Heh, I love that one.  But damn you to hell for reminding me that I still don't have the Season 2 DVD.