18 Jan 2012

Log of missing skipper shows haste to leave Rarotonga

5:26 pm on 18 January 2012

A yachtsman missing in the Cook Islands has written of his haste to leave Rarotonga and be out at sea.

The Cook Islands News reports it has been given a copy of the man's last log entry written two days before he disappeared two weeks ago.

The man, who has name suppression in New Zealand, is wanted in New Zealand on 26 sex-related charges including the rape of young girls.

The newspaper reports the log entry shows the skipper's lack of sailing and climatic knowledge.

The man sought medical help at Rarotonga Hospital on New Year's Eve but never picked up his prescribed medication.

In his log the yachtsman wrote he suspected he had had a heart attack when travelling south of Mangaia.

His records stopping in Rarotonga to seek medical attention but the desire to get as far south as quickly as possible.

Cook Islands Police are continuing to investigate the case.