Today at 6:30 a.m. the employees of the Harbormaster’s Office in Dubrovnik rescued the French citizen Xavier Girard (1957) after the sinking of his yacht 'ALI BABA' during its voyage from Dubrovnik to Bari.
The yacht which was sailing under the French flag was built in 1970 in Greece. It was made of wood, it had two masts and an engine power of 165 kW. Xavier Girard was on the vessel by himself.
According to the statement he gave this morning at the Headmaster’s Office in Dubrovnik, on August 29, 2005 around 23 p.m. at 34 nautical miles from Dubrovnik, Mr. Girard heard some noise and noticed strong vibrations coming from the stern. After that the engine stopped and water started to enter.
Although he switched on the water-pumps, he also sent an SOS message via the radio. The whole rescue operation was being coordinated by the National Headquarters for Search and Rescue at Rijeka. Dubrovnik did try to draw the vessel to a safe harbor but without success.
The yacht finally sunk at 6:30 a.m. at 6.5 nautical miles from Dubrovnik at a depth of 150 meters. The trunk was totally deposited and only the top of the cabin and the masts had remained above the surface because all other tanks were empty.
Although there was still some fuel left in the daily tank, after the sinking of the boat no traces of pollution were visible.