Two people reported late after deciding to return to Virginia with their time-damaged sailboat instead of continuing their journey to the Portuguese Azores are heading home safely, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Virginia Beach-born Yani Nicopoulos and Dale Jones, both 65, contacted the Coast Guard on Friday, saying they were safe and on their way to Hampton, Virginia.
They were about 80 miles east of Chincoteague, but were not in trouble and did not seek help, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
They had left Hampton on June 8 on a 36-foot sailboat Kyklades for the Azores, a mid-Atlantic archipelago about 800 miles west of Portugal, the Coast Guard said.
Yani Nicopoulos, left, and Dale Jones are seen in a dateless photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard
But they called Jones’ daughter last week to say the boat was damaged and are returning to Virginia. At the time, they were about 460 miles east of Virginia Beach and no additional communications were received, the Coast Guard said.
Five anxious days passed before the daughter called the Coast Guard, saying she had not heard from them and was concerned about their well-being. The Coast Guard said they disappeared on Tuesday.
“We are extremely happy to learn that Yani and Dale have been found and are safe,” said James Cyphers, an observer at the operations unit at the Fifth District Coast Guard Command Center, on Friday. “It’s really wonderful that the couple will soon be reunited with friends and family.”
The Coast Guard said Friday that the boat was reportedly damaged after being struck by lightning, forcing the couple to install a spare lane to return to Virginia.
The Coast Guard said it would not provide information on when or exactly where the couple expects to arrive in Virginia.
The Kyklades sailboat, which Yani Nicopoulos and Dale Jones used when they disappeared, can be seen in a photo provided by the US Coast Guard. Photo courtesy of the US Coast Guard
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