The trimaran aboard which two yachtsmen – one a Brit – went missing over a month ago has been found half sunk in the Eastern Mediterranean. The stricken red and white 45ft Pulau Tiga was taken in tow by a Russian ship, relatives say.

Aboard there was no sign of her skipper Mark Bamford, or his unnamed crew. Mr Bamford had been planning to sail from Methoni in southern Greece to Syracuse in Sicily.

Mark’s partner Amanda has been in Sicily waiting for him and doing what she can to raise the alarm. Meanwhile Mark’s children from a previous relationship and other relatives have been trying to find out what happened.

Jamie Hunt, Mark’s step son-in-law, said: ‘We believe he may have been blown off course into Zakinthos (Zante) in the Ionian. Mark is an experienced sailor who has done this route before in about two weeks, but he last called home on October 4.’

Mark, 67, reportedly had no liferaft on board or EPIRB but the boat was fitted with a VHF radio.