The missing yacht

Here's more info on the missing yacht. I can't find any articles indicating that they were ever found, so I guess they may be lost at sea. I know we can't exactly go to the spot where they disappeared, but it might be really interesting to do stuff on the ocean, on Molly Finn, the 20 year old Rhody native girlfriend who disappeared with them. (and ps, my friend Molly FLYNN has expressed interest in helping us with something we might do). Also,there's info on debris found where they sent their distress call, but it hasn't been definitely linked to the yacht.
Anyone interested?

The News of the World (England)

June 18, 2006 Sunday

Missing sailor is 'Britain's worst lawyer'

LENGTH: 126 words

MISSING yachtsman Jacek Bielecki fled the UK after being called "Britain's Worst Lawyer".

Mr Bielecki, 56, an international shipping lawyer, was suspended from practising in 2001 for spending clients' money and lying under oath.

The dad of three, who lived a millionaire's lifestyle with a Bentley and mansion in Orford, Suffolk, was declared bankrupt the same year. Last night the search went on for Mr Bielecki, his son Jack, 19, Jack's American girlfriend Molly Finn, also 19, and Brit Richard White, 34.

They were sailing from Jacek's new home in Rhode Island, US, to Europe.

US coastguards said the 41ft yacht Free Spirit was battered by 115mph winds and 30ft waves on Thurday. An ex-neighbour in Orford said yesterday: "Jacek liked to live life on the edge."

See also:
Polly Bialecka's information site in memory of the missing people: http://lostatsea.info/
(I found the picture of Molly Finn and others, including the ship there too)

Another article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=391209&in_page_id=1770


From the ProJo, with an emphasis on Molly Finn, a local kid, and info about debris found in the area where the yacht disappeared, and her house's street number:

Searchers find debris near site where Newport crew called for help

En route from Newport to the Azores, the 41-foot sloop Free Spirit and its crew of four encountered 30-foot seas and winds of 50 to 90 knots off Nova Scotia.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 17, 2006

BY RICHARD SALIT
Journal Staff Writer

A sailboat that disappeared off Nova Scotia on Thursday in the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto carried four passengers, including a 19-year-old woman with deep roots in Newport and a lawyer renowned in England for his extravagant lifestyle and legal and financial woes.

U.S. and Canadian authorities searched for the 41-foot Free Spirit into the night last night after finding a debris field in the area where the vessel made its only call for help, 200 nautical miles south of Halifax. None of the debris, however, could be confirmed as coming from Free Spirit, which ran into 30-foot seas and winds of 50 to 90 knots on its way from Newport to the Azores, the Coast Guard said.

As the search continued, relatives of 19-year-old Molly Finn gathered at her family's Eastnor Road home in Newport's close-knit Fifth Ward, where Irish traditions run strong. Kathleen "Kiki" Finn, president of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, took calls from the Coast Guard updating her on the search for her daughter, a 2004 graduate of St. Andrew's School in Barrington.

"Molly had developed an interest in boating the last couple of years," said Stephen Martin, her uncle. Jumping on a transatlantic crossing, he said, "That was Molly."

"She's a vibrant, adventurous, interesting kid," agreed Ann Finn, sister of Molly's father, Thomas, a carpenter who died a year ago after an illness.

During the past year, Molly Finn befriended British lawyer Jacek Bielecki and his 19-year-old son, Jack. Bielecki had been looking to buy a boat for a grand voyage and had moved to Aquidneck Island on a part-time basis after finding one at New England Boatworks, in Portsmouth, according to real-estate agent Jose Aguon, who helped him find a rental apartment on Powell Street. The Bieleckis, he said, later leased a house near him on Extension Street.

"He ended up becoming my neighbor up the street," said Aguon. "He would go back and forth to England. He had his son with him."

Aguon called him a "great guy" with a tremendous sense of humor who made a delicious veal piccatta and enjoyed expensive champagnes.

Jacek Bielecki, 56, made the headlines of English newspapers, including The Mirror and Lloyd's List, in 2001 for living lavishly while experiencing bankruptcy problems and being temporarily barred from practicing law for lying under oath. Bielecki denied lying and said the cash-flow problems were routine for a legal firm such as his, Hughes Hooker & Co., specialists in shipping.

Josie Allen, who rented the Powell Street apartment to Bielecki, said she recalled his children and grandchildren visiting him. She recently saw him at a bank and he invited her to a going-away party he was going to plan. But she never heard that one was held.

Bielecki bought a 41-foot sloop that was stored at New England Boatworks, according to co-owner Tom Rich. The cruiser-racer was made by Tartan, probably in the early 1970s, Rich said.

"This boat was pretty old," he said.

The boat yard fixed a radar tower and spinnaker pole, said Rich, but Bielecki oversaw the rest of its preparations. The boat was put in the water on May 4 and stayed at the boat yard until May 17.

THE COAST GUARD could not say yesterday what day Free Spirit left Newport, only that it was bound for the Azores and that it was carrying the Bieleckis, Finn and a 34-year-old British national, Richard White.

At 11:55 a.m. Wednesday, Jacek Bielecki used his satellite telephone to call his stepdaughter, who lives outside of New York City. He said the boat needed to be rescued immediately and gave its coordinates, according to the Coast Guard.

Canadian vessels and U.S. aircraft began searching the 51-degree waters within an hour, in difficult conditions. But it wasn't until the winds and seas subsided and visibility improved that the debris was found, around 5 a.m. yesterday. The searchers found a wooden door from a boat, a nautical hatch cover, a bleach bottle, a milk carton with a line tied to it and a gasoline can. Yesterday evening, the search continued.

"It will go through the night," said a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston.

Finn attended Newport public schools through her freshman year at Rogers High School. She transferred to St. Andrew's, a private school in Barrington, where she played on the lacrosse team. She had shown an interest in marine trades and looked into taking courses at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, her relatives said.

Projo.com reporter Kate Bramson contributed to this report.

rsalit@projo.com / (401) 277-7467