Yacht corpse riddle
Window cleaner on solo trip is found naked on vessel off Jamaica
‘Not many sailors from this estate’
THE body of a British window cleaner has been found on a yacht off Jamaica after he embarked on a solo voyage around the world.
Mark Brennan, 42, was discovered naked in the hull of his 30ft vessel.
Described by neighbours as an ‘inexperienced’ sailor, he was last seen alive almost two months ago.
He is thought to have crossed the Atlantic to Barbados in the Caribbean before travelling to Grenada, where he was last seen on December 6.
He was reported missing on December 16 and found on Monday after his vessel was seen drifting 70 miles off the coast.
Back in his home town of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, one neighbour said: ‘I can’t understand how he’s been found in a boat off Jamaica.
‘I always knew him as a window cleaner – he never mentioned any interest in yachting. You don’t get many round-the-world sailors from this estate.’ Another said: ‘He would always come home at 2am or 3am and you would hear him walking around his flat. He went everywhere with his mastiff.
‘He would meet a lot of men in the car – they had accents from Manchester and Liverpool. They would chat and count money then he would get out of the car.’
Jamaican coastguards found Mr Brennan’s decomposing body in the hull of his boat, which was flying the Union Jack. The yacht, named Avrio, had lost its dinghy, was low on fuel and had no radio or phone.
The Jamaican authorities were alerted to the drifting boat by the US Coast Guard, and the vessel was towed to Port Antonio on the Caribbean island, where police are investigating.
Mr Brennan’s mother Marjorie, 69, said: ‘He’s been found and that’s very upsetting. We’re waiting for the results of an autopsy.’
Northumbria Police said: ‘A formal identification process is ongoing but it is suspected that the body is that of the South Shields man.
‘The relevant authorities in Jamaica are carrying out inquiries to establish the cause of death and we will continue to support their investigation in conjunction with the Foreign Office.
‘The man’s family are being offered support by officers and they have requested that their privacy is respected.’