British bosun still missing after Saturday's Monaco accident: call to industry for assistance

At approximately 22:50 on 25 September, the last day of the Monaco Yacht Show, as 28-year-old, British-born Bosun William Black returned to 56-metre Perini Navi S/Y Burrasca, his tender struck the hull of neighbouring 31-metre vessel, S/Y Fado.

Black – Will to his friends – was nowhere to be seen. At the time, Fado was unmanned and, according to Burrasca’s Captain Michael Ziems, totally unlit save for the anchor light (as per regulations) 30 metres overhead in the bay crowded with some 100 yachts.

An overnight search ensued, many neighbouring crew joining the effort to locate Will in their tenders. After two helicopter sweeps and a four-hour water search the following day, the search was called off. His body is still missing.

Will's family are understandably keen to recover him and, because the anchorage is so deep off Monaco, there is a chance his body will not resurface. YCO Yacht, based in Monaco, has been assisting with the search and has provided the following statement:

"The local authorities and the Monaco Police have been providing fantastic support but unfortunately do not have the advanced submersible equipment necessary to continue the search in such deep water. As the yacht has no management company, YCO and the Monaco Yacht Show have been working together to provide local support to the family but would now like to ask the industry for their help.

If any yacht or company in the area has access to a remotely operated vehicle or a submarine that could be used to search the area where William disappeared then their help would be greatly appreciated."

"If people would like to offer their assistance then they should contact Bianca Williams in the Monaco office, either via email: Bianca.w@ycoyacht.com or the office number: +377 93 50 12 12."

From Guildford, UK, Will started crewing in August 2006, onboard S/Y Parsifal III for one-and-a-half years, followed by time on M/Y A, M/Y Absinthe, shipyard time for Parvati in La Ciotat, and various deliveries. He joined Burrasca in July this year.

According to close friend and ex-fellow crew Marco Ravanello, Will was a gregarious character who brought life to every situation: “Will was full of energy, always making people laugh and everyone wanted to be where he was; he should have been on stage. He once wrote on his CV that he liked ‘running, jumping, climbing trees, laughing, smiling, eating cheese’. He was goofy but sharp as an arrow. He was one of those guys who made everyone he met love him.”

Originally from an events organisation background, Will discovered the world of yachting as a crew race cameraman on the clipper round-the-world race, then for Louis Vuitton in the Americas Cup before embarking on his professional crew career.

Synfo.com and the whole staff at The Yacht Report Group sends its condolences to his girlfriend, parents, sister, friends and fellow crew for this tragic and untimely loss.

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