Andrew Witton, 51, was
last seen aboard the vessel “KAILEIA” in international waters approximately
250 nautical miles South of Pitcairn Island. He disappeared whilst keeping
watch in what can only be described as suspicious circumstances. There are
grave concerns for Andrew’s safety and his family are eager to obtain
details of what has happened to him.
If you have
information that may assist police to locate Andrew, or otherwise assist in
explaining his disappearance, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000
or via Crimestoppers.com.au
Lone sailor tells his side of
the story
12th December 2007
By KUE DAVIS - Coffs Coast Advocate
AS mystery continues to surround the disappearance of
well-known sailor Andrew Witton, the last man to see him alive has told his
side of the story.
Following the article published in The Advocate on December 4 which
described the disappearance of Mr Witton, we have been contacted via email
by Simon Golding the man who was aboard when Mr Witton disappeared.
Mr Golding wrote of sleepless days and nights, massive health
complications and a terrifying 45-day ordeal at sea alone aboard a yacht
that was ill-equipped.
"When I stopped searching for Andy, it was the hardest decision I have
ever had to make. I had not slept in days and found myself in a 61-knot
storm (64 knots is a cyclone). It was totally impossible to stay and
search," he wrote.
"I had to deal with no fresh water, a sinking vessel, motor problems,
torn sails and sailing a 55m yacht on my own for 45 days with very little
sleep, and this is just to mention the main problems. I saw one yacht in all
this time two weeks after Andy disappeared and made radio contact with them.
"I was very lucky to make it to any land at all but when I did it was
the Galapagos Islands.
"There, all the authorities were informed, and Andy's disappearance
was investigated by various organisations including the police, the Navy,
prosecutors, judges and the UK, Canadian and Australian embassies."
Mr Golding explained the investigation included numerous experts
examining Kaileia (Mr Witton's yacht), and continued for six months during
which time he was unable to leave the Galapagos Islands.
"Toward the end of these investigations, many months later, I found
myself in a mainland South American hospital, paralysed, blind and dying as
a result of complications and injuries caused directly from the stricken
voyage," he wrote.
"Comments implying the Ecuadorians and other authorities including the
Australian embassy did not thoroughly look into the situation are just
wrong.
"All involved in these investigations and who actually know the facts
are satisfied all has been done thoroughly.
"People who knew Andy and who know me will
hopefully draw their own conclusions from the facts rather than from
speculation, inaccurate assumptions, and stories surrounding this tragedy."
Did he jump or was he pushed?
KIM ARLINGTON - SMH
November 25, 2009
Andrew Witton was sailing his beloved yacht Kaileia from Tahiti to
the Galapagos Islands when he disappeared in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean in January 2007.
The only other crew member, Simon
Golding, said he had been sleeping below decks and woke to find Mr
Witton was no longer on board, Glebe Coroner's Court heard today.
As an inquest began into Mr Witton's death, Geoffrey Denman, the
counsel assisting the coroner, said "somehow or other [he] went
overboard".
The body of Mr Witton, 51, of Coffs Harbour, has never been found.
"Did he jump? Was he pushed? Was there foul play? Was it an
accident?" Mr Denman asked.
"There were all sorts of possibilities which we will try to
pursue."
He told the State Coroner, Mary Jerram, that Mr Witton's family
hoped the inquest would provide answers.
Mr Golding had said he had turned the yacht around and searched
for Mr Witton for two days and two nights without success.
"There are some circumstances surrounding Andy's disappearance
that have caused the family to question the account given by Simon
Golding," Mr Denman said.
"We're going to try to make sense of the untimely end to Andy's
life, which was full of such adventure and a freedom of spirit."
One of the "concerns" in the case involved Mr Golding's refusal of
an offer by people on another yacht, which he came into contact with on
January 17, to use their long-distance radio to contact authorities and
Mr Witton's family, to tell them about the loss.
The inquest continues.
- with AAP
Sailor denies killing missing shipmate
ADAM BENNETT - SMH
November 27, 2009
AAP
A sailor whose skipper went missing in the Pacific
Ocean denies pushing him overboard to take control of the yacht, saying
the allegation is "ridiculous".
Simon Charles Golding, 40, dismissed claims he was
involved in the death of his friend, Andy Witton, 51, who disappeared
from his yacht Kaileia on January 13, 2007.
The pair were sailing from Tahiti to the Galapagos
Islands when Mr Golding said he awoke to find his shipmate missing in a
remote part of the Pacific, about 600km south of Pitcairn Island.
Mr Witton's body has never been found.
Mr Golding told Glebe Coroner's Court that after
finding his companion missing he began a two-day grid search, which he
only called off after getting caught in a cyclone.
He has said the yacht's high-frequency radio
stopped working a week into their voyage, and he was unable to call for
help in the search.
Counsel assisting the inquest, Geoffrey Denman,
accused Mr Golding of fabricating the story about the search, and
questioned why the missing sailor hadn't mentioned the broken radio in
his ship's log.
Mr Denman asked why Mr Golding refused assistance
from another yacht on January 17, despite the boat suffering significant
damage in the cyclone.
He also questioned his reasons for sailing on to
the Galapagos Islands instead of stopping at the closer ports of Easter
or Pitcairn islands.
Irene Hayward, captain of the yacht Cutty Hunk,
told the inquest she offered Mr Golding help after he told her about his
lost crewmate.
But Mr Golding declined an offer to sail in a
convoy to Easter Island, or to use the Cutty Hunk's radio, and instead
chose to sail the much greater distance to the Galapagos Islands.
Mr Golding said he declined help from the Cutty
Hunk because he felt he had the situation "under control".
He had not wanted to use the yacht's radio because
he wanted to notify authorities of Mr Witton's disappearance when he
made it to the Galapagos Islands, he said.
"I saw it as my duty to tell people, to tell Andy's
family, and to let my family know I was OK," he said on Friday.
Mr Denman accused Mr Golding of not reporting Mr
Witton's death until February 10 because he wanted to prolong his time
on the boat.
On Wednesday, Mr Golding's ex-girlfriend, Kylie
Dean, said he had wanted to have his own boat and once joked "the only
way he would get one would be to go sailing and push someone overboard".
Mr Golding denies ever saying this.
Earlier in the inquest, Mr Denman accused him of
"engineering" his shipmate's disappearance.
The allegations were "crazy", Mr Golding said.
"I think it's a ridiculous and stupid theory," he
told the inquest.
Questioned by his lawyer Gordon Elliott, Mr Golding
said he had not pushed his companion overboard or killed him.
"Andy and I were great friends," Mr Golding said.
He said he had continued onto the Galapagos Islands
because that was "our goal".
"You were honouring a fallen comrade?" Mr Elliott
asked.
"That's part of the reason, yes," Mr Golding said.
The inquest before NSW Coroner Mary Jerram resumes
on Monday.
Missing yachtsman mystery
referred to DPP
Posted
Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:40pm AEDT - ABC
The New South Wales Coroner has recommended the
disappearance of a yachtsman be referred to the Commonwealth Director of
Public Prosecutions (DPP) to see if criminal charges should be laid.
It follows the end of an inquest into the death of 51-year-old
Andrew Witton, from Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, who
disappeared while sailing from Tahiti to the Galapagos Islands with his
friend Simon Golding, 40, in 2007.
His body has never been found.
Simon Golding's ex-girlfriend Kylie Dean, previously told the
inquiry that he once joked that the only way he could afford a yacht of
his own was to go sailing and push someone overboard.
The inquest heard that Simon Golding denies having anything to do
with his friend's disappearance.
It also heard he waited almost a month before reporting his friend
missing.
Today the inquest re-opened to hear evidence from a new witness -
Kylie Dean's father, Glen Miles.
He said he believed his daughter's evidence, but added that she
was bitter after her relationship with Simon Golding ended.
Mr Miles said that, as an experienced yachtsman, he was surprised
that, days after Andrew Witton went overboard, Simon Golding did not
take the chance to board another yacht instead of sailing by himself to
the Galapagos Islands.
The Coroner Mary Jerram said there is a reasonable chance a jury
could convict a person based on the evidence.
ABC's Australian Story explores the loss of yachtsman
Andrew Witton
09/02/2016 - My Sailing
When Coffs Harbour handyman and avid surfer Andrew Witton left
Australia in 2006 it was supposed to be the trip of the lifetime.
His plan was to sail across the South Pacific, visit friends in
South America and then make his way to the World Series Cricket in
the Caribbean.
Instead he vanished inexplicably from the deck of his beloved yacht Kaileia in
a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. His final log entry on the day
he disappeared described conditions as 'sunny' and the sea as
'calm'.
The circumstances of his disappearance and the actions of his only
crew mate Simon Golding have long troubled and mystified Andrew
Witton's family and friends.
The sister of missing Australian sailor Andrew Witton believes there is
sufficient new information for his case to be reconsidered by the
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
The 51-year-old Coffs Harbour man vanished from the deck of his yacht
Kaileia in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean during the afternoon of
January 13, 2007.
He was en route with his only crewmate Simon Golding to Easter Island, and
had planned to visit friends in South America and then make his way to the
World Series Cricket in the Caribbean.
Golding was one of three men convicted and jailed last year, in a separate
matter, for his part in the importation of nearly half a tonne of cocaine by
boat across the Pacific in 2010.
"I did not push Andrew overboard...people fall off boats, plenty of
people fall off boats"
Now the ABC's Australian Story program has unearthed accounts suggesting Mr
Witton had previously been approached to use his boat to carry drugs across
the Pacific.
A friend of Mr Witton, Mark Ovens, says Mr Witton told him he had been
approached to bring cocaine back from South America in his boat.
Mr Witton did not tell him who had made the offer.
Mr Ovens says he recalls Mr Witton telling him his share of the offer would
be $2 million.
But Mr Ovens says Mr Witton told him he had "knocked it back", and that he
would not "put my freedom in place of the boat".
Andrew Witton's sister Louise, who is campaigning for answers into the
mystery of her brother's disappearance, wants the Commonwealth DPP to
re-open the case.
"Never knowing what happened to Andrew, [or] how it actually happened, is
the hardest part of all," Ms Witton said.
The subsequent conviction of Golding heightened Ms Witton's concerns about
what may have happened to her brother.
"We believe Simon Golding may have wanted Andrew's boat to carry out the
importation of drugs in 2007," she said.
"There's no evidence that a deal was going to be done or was in the planning
stages.
"But the fact Andrew went missing in what we believe are suspicious
circumstances raises many questions."
Golding refutes the allegation.
"I did not push Andrew overboard," he told Australian Story.
"I lead an adventurous life. I'm not going to abide by all laws, no. But I
do have good morals... people fall off boats, plenty of people fall off
boats."
Questioned as to whether Mr Witton may have been involved in an arrangement
to import drugs back into Australia using his yacht, Ms Witton said:
"I know the authorities can't rule out that Andrew was involved and neither
can we. But we as a family would like to feel that he wasn't involved."
Family questions Golding's search for Witton
Mr Witton, a meticulous log keeper, noted early on the day of his
disappearance that the boat had no sails up and that they were "becalmed" in
sunny conditions.
Later that morning, in his final log entry at 9:50am, Mr Witton wrote that
"wind has finally picked up a bit" and that he was optimistically hoisting
the sails.
"F***ing frustrating sailing (drifting!)," he wrote of the past few days.
"Hate being becalmed."
In a series of exclusive interviews recorded before his conviction for the
2010 drug importation, Golding told Australian Story that he had been
downstairs having a nap on the day of Mr Witton's disappearance.
He says when he came up on deck about 5pm he realised Mr Witton had
disappeared.
"I couldn't believe, you know, the reality of it," he said. "I knew I had to
find Andy."
But Ms Witton's partner Geoff Campbell, a former pilot and navigator,
questions the veracity of the search Golding says he undertook for his
crewmate.
Golding unexpectedly encountered another yacht four days after Mr Witton
disappeared, which meant the coordinates for that meeting were recorded in
the other boat's records by skipper Irene Hayward of the Cutty Hunk.
Mr Campbell's research questions whether Golding could have covered the
distance between the "man overboard" position and the meeting point with
Cutty Hunk and still have had time to do a grid search over 48 hours.
"He was leaving from a position astern of Cutty Hunk. So he had to be going
faster to be able to meet mid-ocean," Mr Campbell said.
"This I worked out to be a distance of nine and a half knots and for Kaileia,
a heavy cruising boat with shredded sails and an inexperienced yachtsman on
board and an engine that was intermittent and taking water, is a very
difficult thing to achieve," he said.
I
was being accused by the Wittons of foul play. I didn't understand where
they were coming from, because in my mind I'd done everything correctly.
Golding said: "I was being accused by the Wittons of foul play.
"I didn't understand where they were coming from, because in my mind I'd
done everything correctly."
A coroner's inquest in 2009 heard evidence that Golding declined to report
Mr Witton's death promptly, did not accept an offer of help from another
boat and did not set off the yacht's Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacon (EPIRB).
The family's questions about the search were also considered.
The matter was referred to the Commonwealth DPP, which elected not to pursue
a case against Golding in relation to Mr Witton's disappearance.
An open finding was passed down into Mr Witton's death.
'Sea of Doubt' can be seen on
Australian Story on ABC TV at 8pm tonight. See a timeline of events:
Andrew Witton and Simon Golding depart Sydney
August 22, 2006
Andrew Witton and Simon Golding leave Sydney on a 'trip of a lifetime', en
route to Tahiti, Easter Island, the Galapagos Islands and then Costa Rica,
in South America.
Andrew Witton has never sailed his yacht 'Kaileia' this far east before.
He tells friends he wants to visit the World Series Cricket in the Caribbean
the following year.
Friends describe Andrew as sounding excited and 'going at a million miles an
hour to get the boat ready.'
Witton and Golding arrive in Tahiti
September 21, 2006
Witton and Golding arrive in Papeete, Tahiti after an uneventful passage.
Simon Golding flies back to a UK.
Witton and Golding head to Galapagos Islands
December 26, 2006
Golding returns from the UK and the men embark for the Galapagos Islands
from Tahiti. Mood is upbeat and excited. An entry in the ship's log says:
Leave Tapuna Pass from Tiana Marina, Tahiti. 1830 hours. BOUND FOR THE
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. Cruising along nicely, sad to leave Tahiti. Great
sailing conditions.
Witton goes overboard in mild sea conditions
January 13, 2007
Sometime after 9:50am, when Andrew Witton makes his last log entry, he goes
overboard in mild sea conditions and only a little bit of wind.
Simon Golding discovers he's gone from the boat by 5pm, when he wakes up
from a nap. He notes the latitude and longitude coordinates of man overboard
as: 30.05' 290 S & 127.09 812 W.
The men have been struggling against a lack of wind for days and Golding
describes Andrew as 'frustrated' with conditions. His last log entry says:
F***ing frustrating sailing, (drifting!). Hate being becalmed.
Golding commences what he says was a two-day grid sea for Andrew. He leaves
no paper record of this search. At this point, the ship's log ends.
Golding turns down offer of help from 'Cutty Hunk'
January 17, 2007
In a separate matter, Golding encounters another boat called the 'Cutty
Hunk', skippered by New Zealand woman Irene Hayward. He declines any offer
of help.
Golding arrives in Galapogos Islands
February 10, 2007
Golding finally arrives in the Galapagos on Santa Cruz Island.
Golding free to leave Galapagos
July 17, 2007
Galapagos authorities clear Simon Golding of any role in Andrew Witton's
disappearance.
Coronial inquest into Witton's disappearance
November 25, 2009
A coronial inquest begins in Sydney into Andrew Witton's disappearance.
Coroner Mary Jerram refers the case to the Commonwealth Director of Public
Prosecutions to consider charges against Simon Golding.
Golding arrested and charged over importation of cocaine
October 11, 2010
Simon Golding and others are arrested and charged over importation of 400
kilos of cocaine via a yacht transfer from South America.
The bust occurs at Scarborough Marina in Moreton Bay, Brisbane.
It is described by media at the time as 'Australia's third largest cocaine
importation.'
DPP won't proceed with case against Golding
December 21, 2010
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions elects not to proceed with
a case against Simon Golding in relation to Andrew Witton.
The Coroner returns an open finding into Andrew Witton's death.
Three men have been convicted of importing nearly half a tonne of cocaine
into Australia by boat in October 2010.
A Brisbane Supreme Court jury found Simon Golding, Terrance Elfar and German
national Holger Sander guilty of the commercial importation of a
border-controlled drug.
The men were arrested after a 2010 drug bust that saw Australian Federal
Police (AFP) seize the bulk of 400 kilograms of cocaine from a yacht docked
at Scarborough marina, north of Brisbane.
The prosecution argued the drugs were brought from South America by a mother
vessel with an open-water exchange occurring approximately 800 kilometres
off the Queensland coast.
At the time it was described as the third biggest drug bust in Australian
history.
When asked by Justice Roslyn Atkinson if they had anything to say after
their conviction, two of the men criticised the verdict.
"I believe this trial was totally unfair," Elfar said.
Golding said: "I think this trial was totally biased and full of
non-disclosure, and I can't wait until the corruption of the AFP and Customs
comes out."
Justice Atkinson responded by telling people listening in the court gallery
to "treat them with a grain of salt".
Sentencing submissions are to be heard tomorrow morning.
