Solo sailor lost at sea

The US Coast Guard said it is searching for a 50-year-old Chinese man — Guo Chuan — reported overdue while sailing his 97-foot super trimaran in a record-breaking attempt from San Francisco to Shanghai, Tuesday.

US Coast Guard photo by Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules airplane crew

An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point was dispatched to search for the mariner along with vessels in the area.

Tuesday morning, watch standers at Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received notification from Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) China personnel that the vessel Qingdao China, with one person aboard, had not been heard from for 24 hours.

The Qingdao China is actively transmitting on an automatic identification system which gave the vessel's position at the time as 620 miles northwest of Oahu.

The mariner is regarded as a very experienced sailor and is reportedly in good health. He has been attempting to set a non-stop solo trans-Pacific sailing record from San Francisco to Shanghai. He departed San Francisco on Oct. 18. He had been in constant contact with MRCC China and family on the voyage and has not been likely to miss scheduled calls.