Bernhard Fricke, a 60-year-old experienced German sailor, was last seen April 6, 2000, while attempting to sail from St. Augustine, Florida, to Germany in his 30-foot catamaran Anna V. He had completed trans-Atlantic voyages before and stayed in regular contact with family; his final email said he was seasick and that the vessel had sustained damage and that he planned to stop in Cape Cod for repairs.

On April 7 the Anna V’s Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon activated but the signal was quickly lost, so authorities could not fix a location. Two days later the catamaran was found capsized about 100 miles east of Delaware; Fricke and the boat’s life raft were missing. A week-long search covering nearly 90,000 square nautical miles turned up no sign of him. He is presumed lost at sea and his disappearance remains unsolved.

Did anyone sailing that stretch in early April 2000 see a small catamaran or a life raft adrift?