Yacht dinghy found ashore before sailor went missing

THE disappearance of a lone yachtsman off Scotland's West coast has taken a fresh twist after it was revealed that his vessel's dinghy was found washed ashore four days before he was reported missing.

Neil MacKenzie, 59, an experienced yachtsman from Westhill, near Aberdeen, was reported missing after his 30ft single masted yacht, the Solitaire, was found deserted and lying at anchor off the Arisaig peninsula by the crew of the Mallaig lifeboat on Thursday.

He is understood to have last been seen alive when he set out on his boat from the marina at Arisaig on Tuesday, 14 September - the day he last made contact with his wife, Sarah, a GP at the Westhill Medical Practice.

Dr MacKenzie reported her husband missing on Wednesday after he failed to make contact with his family. On Thursday, as a major land sea and air search was launched for the missing oil pipeline engineer, his empty yacht was discovered lying at anchor and undamaged at Eilean a' Ghaill on the Rhu Peninsula, five miles southwest of Arisiag. A number of Mr MacKenzie's possessions and food and lifejackets were still inside the boat. But there was no trace of Mr MacKenzie.

Concerns for Mr MacKenzie deepened after it was revealed that the yacht's unmarked dinghy had been found on Sunday after it was washed ashore at Glenuig Bay, further along the coast, with its outboard engine still attached.

There was still no trace of the missing yachtsman last night. The search for Mr MacKenzie continued yesterday in the Lochaber area involving the Stornoway Coastguard Helicopter carrying out coastline searches from Arisaig towards Glenuig while Mallaig lifeboat carried out shoreline searches along the same area. Police dog handlers were also involved in the search.

A spokesman for Northern Constabulary said: "Mr MacKenzie is still to be found. The search is continuing."

Yesterday, as the search continued, a distraught Dr MacKenzie said: "Three of my daughters are with me at home and we are supporting each other. Our friends and neighbours have been in constant contact and are doing everything they can to help.

"Unfortunately it is a waiting game and there is nothing anyone else can really do. I am just waiting by the phone to hear from the police."

She explained that her husband had travelled regularly to Arisaig to sail his yacht but always stayed in regular contact. Said Dr MacKenzie: "I know he has dropped his phone in the sea before but he is normally good at getting in contact - even if he has to go to a public phone."

She continued: "I have been trying his mobile regularly but it is just going straight to voicemail. This has never happened before. Normally if he was spending time on the yacht at the mooring, I would hear from him every night. If he goes out to sea I would maybe hear from him every couple of days - but no longer than that."

Dr MacKenzie added: "He does not have a job at the moment so he had no specific time to come home. However, he has a deadline for his Open University maths course, which is due on Monday. I thought he would be home by now to have it completed in plenty time."

Mr and Mrs MacKenzie have been married for 12 years and Mr Mackenzie has four grown-up step-daughters.