Shropshire director feared dead after fall from yacht

Luke Stimson, from Shifnal, was returning home from Japan to England but plunged into the water almost 500 miles from land.

Mr Stimson, aged 38, had been the Asian director of Albrighton-based David Austin Roses in Japan for the past three years and was understood to be on the trip with his fiancée, Laura Vernon.

He fell from the 38-foot-yacht at about 11.30pm on Saturday. Miss Vernon was hoisted to safety by a rescue helicopter at 5am on Sunday.

The coast guard said it was unclear how Mr Stimson, who was conscious and wearing a life jacket, fell overboard in conditions that were not particularly bad.

The vessel, believed to be privately owned, was about 2,000 miles west of the Hawaiian island of Oahu and 500 miles west of the remote Midway Atoll at the time.

Navy helicopters and the Coast Guard continued the search yesterday along with warship USS Peleliu, which was diverted by the Navy to assist. It was confirmed today that the search had been called off.

Stunned colleagues today spoke of their shock. One worker told the Shropshire Star: "We've all been left on the floor by this news. All that knew him are in complete shock. He lived in Shifnal but moved to Japan and would pop in and see us as we're only in Albrighton."

Before his trip he sent a picture of himself to family and friends standing next his yacht Jonetsu.

A statement from David Austin Roses said: "We are a very close company and all know Luke well, so it is a very worrying time.

"Our thoughts are with his family and we are hoping against hope that he will be found soon. He is a truly remarkable person and a much-valued employee.

"He has been in Japan for the last three years and has done a tremendous amount of work to set up our new Japanese office and rose gardens.

"He's an energetic, resourceful, passionate person with a hands-on approach and has been involved in absolutely everything, from the initial exploration and planning of the Japanese operation through to planting and pruning some of the roses in our rose garden. He is also a very kind person and it says a lot about his character that he called his 38-foot-yacht 'Jonetsu' which means passion for life."

Shifnal Town Mayor Councillor Eileen Briscoe said she had spoken to Mr Stimson several times and her last encounter with was before Christmas.

She said: "I'm absolutely staggered and deeply concerned about this. I have spoken to Luke around the town and he is always a nice and polite professional man. I'm worried for him and I hope miracles do happen and he's brought home. He was a normal guy, but in the nicest way possible, he'd go for a pint and out for a meal as people do. I hope he's okay."

Mr Stimson and Ms Vernon were the only two people on the yacht, with Ms Vernon described as an inexperienced sailor.

Coast Guard officer Eric Chandler said that while the location of the incident was remote, it was not particularly unusual for the yacht to have been so far from shore at that time of day. He added: "It's really challenging out there. We can't get our cutters out there. I don't know what made the sailor fall overboard. The female with him said he was conscious at the time and he was wearing a yellow life jacket.

"People sail pretty often pretty far out of reach. I don't think that it's that unusual.''

The Pacific News Centre website said there were winds of 25mph and 6ft waves at the time of the incident.

The yacht is now on its own in the ocean because the warship has no way to secure it.

Navy crew members have put a tracking device on it and turned on its navigation lights.

Luke Stimson joined David Austin Roses in 2002 as a UK sales representative. By 2007 he was responsible for wholesale sales and business development in more than 35 countries, including Japan, Russia, Canada and Europe.

His role at the time involved promoting David Austin's English Roses around the world, taking part in educational programmes, providing technical advice on rose selection and rose care for garden centre staff and home gardeners.

It is claimed that some weeks ago Mr Stimson sought help on a 'technical support' blog for sailors, before setting off on his 16,000-mile adventure.

He asked fellow sailors for advice on a fault message he was getting on a navigation system on the boat.

His message said: "I would really appreciate some help with this, as I am about to attempt a rather ambitious 16,000-mile sail back to the UK from Osaka. So it would help to get this right!!!"