Big Isle man missing
after shipwreck

WAILUKU » Coast Guard and Maui fire rescue workers last night were continuing to look for a 74-year-old Big Island resident whose sailing vessel was found wrecked in a remote southeast coastal area of the Valley Isle.

William Norcross' 41-foot sailboat Na Hoku O Kalani departed Maalaea Harbor in south-central Maui early Saturday morning.

"He was basically sailing around the world," said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy Knochel.

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Knochel said before sailing to Hawaii, Norcross had sailed to Alaska and along the west coast of North America down to Mexico.

His son, who lives on the Big Island, was flying into Maui, and relatives on the mainland have been notified about the search, Knochel said.

The Coast Guard received an emergency beacon transmittal from the vessel about 2 a.m. yesterday, and one of its helicopter crews found a debris trail and followed it for a half mile to the wreckage at Kaikeana in southeast Maui.

Knochel said the waves were about 8 to 10 feet high and that wind was blowing at more than 28 mph.

A rescue swimmer was lowered from the Coast Guard helicopter to assess the situation and found no one aboard, but noticed at least one of the life jackets was missing, the Coast Guard said.

"From the looks of it, it just ran aground," Knochel said.

A Coast Guard C-130 airplane and a helicopter along with a Maui County rescue helicopter and boat searched the shorelines and coastal waters yesterday.

The Coast Guard towed Norcross into Maalaea Harbor on June 15. Knochel said that, according to Norcross, a wave had ripped the sail and forced him to use his auxiliary motor until he ran out of gas.