Blessed Be Missing Off Australia

Australian officials report that up to 21 planes are searching the coast off Queensland, Australia, for the Morgan Out-Island 41 Blessed Be. The yacht had been purchased in Tahiti earlier this year by Aussie Bruce Glasson of New South Wales, who was joined by another friend in his 60s for the trip to Oz. The boat had arrived safely in New Caledonia, and the families of the crew last heard from the two by satphone on August 23, at which time they reported all was fine and that they were 150 miles south of Brisbane, Australia.

If the name Blessed Be rings any bells, it was because she was previously owned by Jessica Stone of Seattle. In the spring of ’06, Puddle Jumpers Stone and crew Mike Irvine were just 10 miles from Hiva Oa in the Marquesas when their mast folded over during a 3 a.m. squall.