I'm looking for help in locating a missing Canadian couple, Courtenay Steele and Chris Malchow, both from British Columbia. In 2006 they left Canada for New Zealand where they lived and travelled until late spring of this year. (Both worked in Russell for some time.) In the late spring, they purchased a 9m sail boat in order to sail from NZ home to Victoria, BC. Although Courtenay was new to sailing, Chris was a very experienced and competent sailor.
They made it from NZ to Tahiti and then to Hilo, Hawaii. They were last seen in Hilo on September 8 and were due back in Victoria by October 16 but never arrived. The Canadian and American Coast Guards called off their search earlier this week. The family believes there's a strong chance they could have been de-masted or set off-course due to a variety of reasons.
We just want to find out what happened to Courtenay and Chris. If anyone here has sailed this route over the past 6 months and may have spoken to or even just seen Chris and Courtenay, please contact me. Maybe they mentioned a Plan B or something else.
This article was posted on CBC's website earlier this week. Click here or read below.
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A B.C. couple sailing from Hawaii to Victoria has vanished and Canadian and U.S. coast guards have suspended searches after finding no trace of the nine-metre sailboat the pair was travelling on.
B.C. residents Chris Malchow and Courtnay Steele, seen in this undated photo, were supposed to arrive home weeks ago. B.C. residents Chris Malchow and Courtnay Steele, seen in this undated photo, were supposed to arrive home weeks ago.
(Courtesy of Courtnay Steele's family)
Chris Malchow, 31, of Victoria, and Courtnay Steele, 27, of Saltspring Island, left Hawaii on Sept. 8 and were due to arrive in Victoria on Oct. 16, family spokeswoman Suzanne Steele told CBC News Monday.
Both quit their jobs for "an adventure of a lifetime," said Steele, who's been using the internet to track ships that might have encountered the couple's ketch.
Back in June, Malchow and Steele bought the sailboat, Takaroa 2, in New Zealand and set sail to Tahiti, then on to Hawaii.
But there were problems early on in their journey. In Steele's online blog entry dated Aug. 1, she wrote about encountering a gale.
"A particularly gigantic wave crashed over our stern … we broke our main boom. Chris sent for a swim, but luckily he was harnessed in. It could have been much worse, really," she wrote.
Suzanne Steele, aunt of Courtnay Steele, said her niece had little sailing experience but was learning from Chris Malchow.Suzanne Steele, aunt of Courtnay Steele, said her niece had little sailing experience but was learning from Chris Malchow.
(CBC)
Their radio receiver was soaked with salt water and wrecked. Hatches weren't closing properly and there was a problem with the bilge pump — but the pair made it to Tahiti, the blog said.
On the way to Hawaii on Sept. 5, Steele wrote: "Our VHF radio has quit working … a rather scary sight … the lights of a behemoth freighter constantly looming large behind us."
Pair not heard from since Sept. 8
Suzanne Steele said her niece had little sailing experience, but was learning from Malchow. "Her partner is a very able sailor and … an extremely competent person," she said.
Malchow and Steele have not been heard from since Sept. 8.
A major search was launched in October and vessels in the area were given the boat's description, but the Canadian and U.S. coast guards have now suspended their searches.
John Steele, Courtnay's father, told CBC News on Monday that he worries the pair may have been caught in a commercial shipping lane.
"They were crossing major sea lanes between North America and Asia, as I understand, just north of Hawaii. They are probably 200 miles wide and who knows how many freighters are going through there a day," he said from his Saltspring Island home.
Still, family members said they aren't giving up hope.
"There is a possibility that they are off course, that they've been de-masted or something like that, and that they will make their way home," Suzanne Steele said.
"I don't think that's an unrealistic view … I have great hope still."
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Again, if you have heard of anything, seen them, or know anyone who's been sailing these routes over the past few months, please contact me. We just want to know what's happened. Thank you.
Stephanie
