Search Scaled Back For Missing British Sailor

The search for a 65-year-old British man who went missing from a yacht near Culatra Island, off Olhão between Christmas and the New year, has been scaled back after a week of fruitless scouring. The Briton, identified as Robin Warde, went missing from a customised catamaran on the Ria Formosa lagoon, on 28 December 2017. Fears are he may have fallen overboard while sailing alone. The vessel, the Kleen Breeze, was found empty, anchored in the Ria Formosa, near Culatra Island. The alarm is said to have been raised by the man’s wife; the couple is also believed to own a property in the Western Algarve.

The Kleen Breeze The Kleen Breeze is understood to be an electrically-powered custom sailing proa, run entirely on solar power and lithium batteries. It is said to have been anchored in the Ria Formosa for around one year prior to Mr. Warde’s disappearance. Since 28 December, Olhão Maritime Police and the local life-guard have carried out numerous searches to locate the missing Briton, but without success. Quad-bikes were deployed on land, while boats and divers scoured the Ria’s waters. On 2 January, 2018, the search for the missing man was downsized, although authorities have said they will continue to look for the Briton during routine excursions and other operations. Commandant Ferreira Nunes, head of the Olhão Maritime Police branch, told The Portugal News on Thursday (4 January) “the search hasn’t been suspended but it has been scaled down as all the terrain has now been scoured and for more than seven days. We have also alerted the local fishing community and leisure boats to let us know if they see anything that could be related to the case.”