Search under way for 74-year-old sailor

BOSTON – A search continued Tuesday for a sailboat that lost radio contact with the Coast Guard on its way from Canada to Massachusetts during a powerful storm.

The 30-foot vessel, captained by a 74-year-old American with extensive sailing experience, left Nova Scotia on Friday bound for Gloucester.

After receiving a worried phone call from the sailor’s girlfriend on Monday, authorities launched an air and water search that stretches 230 miles from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, to Gloucester.

High seas, strong winds and low visibility suspended the water search Tuesday afternoon. A U.S. Coast Guard Falcon jet continued to look from the air, said spokeswoman Kelly Newlin.

“We’re checking all up and down our coast. We’ve looked in ports where he may have popped in and the Americans are continuing from the air,” added Lt. Pat Jessup, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Authorities refused to name the man or his girlfriend.

The Coast Guard said the woman believed the boat was unstable. She also said it was equipped with flares, life jackets, a life raft and a VHF radio.

Emergency officials have not been able to reach the boat through the radio. The boat’s home port is in Virginia, Newlin said.