FEARS are growing for a British sailor embarking on a solo round-the-world trip after his abandoned boat was discovered drifting off the Canary Islands.
A desperate search is underway for James ‘Jesmie’ Nunan, 34, from Reading, after the Brit adventurer’s yacht, Kehaar, was found by coastguards 50 miles off the coast of Gran Canaria with no sign of its owner – bar his trusty miniature Jack Russell companion.
The loyal pooch, Thumbelina, was discovered unharmed and has since been taken in by a local dog shelter – but there is no sign of its free-spirited owner, who worked as a bricklayer for a year before setting sail on his dream voyage in March.
Nunan, who had already made stops at Gibraltar and Lanzarote, last made contact with his mother, Maura Norton, 56, on August 18.
“He’s been very good about keeping contact with my mum. I’ve been hearing through my mum how he has been getting on and what he has been doing,” his half-sister, Nikita Goddard, 31, told The Daily Telegraph.
At 6:16pm on August 18, Nunan filmed a Facebook Live video where he appeared to be walking among a group of migrants at Playa del Confital, an idyllic stretch of sand on Gran Canaria’s southern coast.
Later that night, Nunan left Paddy’s Anchor, a popular British bar in Las Palmas, having told a fellow punter that he planned to travel back to Lanzarote.
According to the man he befriended, Nunan appeared drunk, but not troublesome.
CCTV footage then shows the nomad purchasing dinner at nearby Rico Doner Kebab.
He is seen to be wearing his passport around his neck, but had his backpack stolen while ordering food.
A day later, Nuna’s passport was reported ‘lost or stolen’ to an Irish consulate in Gran Canaria.
One week later, local officials located Nunan’s vessel 50 miles off the southern tip of Gran Canaria – about 100 miles away from Las Palmas.
The day before, a pan-pan call – one step lower than a mayday alert – was made in relation to Nuna’s yacht.
Nunan’s half-sister added: “He’s always been a free spirit. Before he went sailing he was living in a converted van, and he was travelling around Scotland in it.
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“When he was in Scotland he just got the idea that he was going to get a boat and sail around the world. He’s been doing that since late March this year. He waited until after my son was born so he could meet him and went pretty much straight after.”
Nunan’s father has flown out to Gran Canaria to help the search, while Essex Police are supporting his mother at home.
A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Essex Police said: “We are in touch with James’ family to provide support to them at this very difficult time.
“We have submitted a number of queries through our international liaison officers and Interpol to Spanish authorities. At this stage we are awaiting response.
“We dearly hope James can be located safely as soon as possible and we will continue to be in contact, alongside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, with his family, and [will] help where we can.”
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