Kaz II - Other Explanations

Other Explanations

Several alternative explanations have been put forward for the crew's disappearance.

According to authorities in Townsville, the weather had been windy and the sea had been rough between the time that the Kaz II departed and was found drifting. This led authorities to speculate that the crew may have experienced some form of sudden difficulty during rough weather and gone overboard. However, one issue with this theory is that contents of the cabin, including a table, did not seem to have been disrupted in any way. Relatives of the missing men say that the boat's condition make this unlikely and point to discrepancies such as the fact that the men's fishing lines and laundry were set out, and that their life jackets were still stowed, which indicated that they weren't experiencing rough weather at the time of their disappearance.

Also noted was the fact that the Kaz II was found with its fenders out, leading to speculation that the Kaz II may have docked with another as-yet-unknown vessel to which the crew might have willingly, or unwillingly, transferred.

"'The fenders were out on their yacht, and the only reason you ever put them out is when another boat comes aside or if you come to rest against a wharf." -- Hope Himing, niece of boat owner Derek Batten.

In answer to speculation, Townsville police stated that small craft commonly leave their fenders out at all times, making it impossible to draw any definitive conclusions about this feature.

Derek Batten was said to have bought the Kaz II a year before and sailed it a couple of times since then. The Tunsteads were not nautical novices either, since they sailed together from the time they were 18 years old, and even worked in the radio rooms of the Volunteer Sea Rescue. The last known contact of the family members with any of the crew was made one-and-a-half hours after it left port, when one crew member was contacted by his wife.

Volunteer radio operator Ivan Ormes recorded that the Kaz II radioed in at 6:45 P.M. on 15 April, the evening of their departure, giving its position as George Point. This is the last known contact with the Kaz II. Ms. Grey says that it should have taken them only 2½ hours to go to George Point and that it is unclear what took them so long to arrive there. One explanation is that they were just fishing the whole day. But another explanation is that they had problems with their GPS, since they already tried to set off on 14 April, but were forced to return because of the non-functional GPS. That incident was because of a user error and it was easily fixed, so the Kaz II set off early the next day.

Other hypotheses include that the boat became stuck on a sandbar near George Point, where the boat's last radio message was made. When the men jumped overboard to push it free, a gust of wind blew and the boat drifted away, leaving them stranded. This would explain why towels were left out on the deck.

Another hypothesis is that one crew member may have been washed over by a freak wave and that the others were lost trying to rescue him.