Fair winds to yachtsman Duncan Lougee

Tributes have been paid to a solo skipper who disappeared while sailing his 25ft Folkboat from the UK's south coast to Ireland as part of the Jester Baltimore Challenge.

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PBO had the pleasure of being invited aboard the 1983 Varne-built Minke the day before she departed Plymouth, Devon, on 18 June.

Freelance technical editor Jake Kavanagh was shown around by an upbeat Duncan Lougee-who was tragically lost at sea during the voyage. Duncan proudly demonstrated the extensive safety equipment he carried as standard, including a satellite phone, and also how the existing systems had been modified to make them more robust.

This year's Jester Baltimore Challenge saw a total of 43 yachts take part, the main fleet from Plymouth and another 10 from a simultaneous start in Pwllheli, Wales-the biggest Jester fleet of all time.

Jester Challenge events provide an opportunity for skippers to test their boats and their seagoing mettle in a supportive and non-competitive environment. It is not a race in any way, shape or form.

An extensive search was carried out, led by UK and Irish coastguards, when Minke did not arrive in Ireland on 22 June as expected. The empty vessel was located on 29 June, around 70 miles north west off Trevose Head, Cornwall.