Cause of death Lost at Sea Role Sailor Nationality Slovenian Died January 2009 | Call-sign S52YS Children Igor Sterk Name Jure Sterk | |
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Born 6 January 1937 ( 1937-01-06 ) Zagreb, Kingdom of Yugoslavia | ||
Jure Šterk (6 January 1937 – January 2009) was a Croatian long-distance sailor and author, who went missing during a sailing trip around the world.
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During his sailing career he crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Between 1991 and 1994 he sailed around the world single-handedly.
Early life
Šterk was born in Zagreb, which was then a part of Yugoslavia. He grew up in Vinica in Bela krajina, and attended a gymnasium in Črnomelj. He lived in Ljubljana for some time, and received his captain's licence in 1977.
Sailing achievements
He competed in the Minitransat transatlantic race (Transat 6,50) three times, crossed the Atlantic ocean eight times, the Indian Ocean twice, and the Pacific Ocean once. Between 1991 and 1994 he single-handedly sailed around the world, in his own 6.5 meter-long boat. He made most of his boats by himself.
Last journey
In December 2007 at age 70, Jure Šterk started a journey to sail around the world on his boat Lunatic. He used his amateur radio to communicate, and was last heard from on 1 January 2009. His sail boat Lunatic was spotted on 26 January, approximately 1,000 nmi (1,900 km) off the coast of Australia. The boat looked damaged and there was no sign of Jure Šterk on deck.
Three months later, on 30 April 2009 the sail boat was found adrift by the crew of the science vessel RV Roger Revelle, 500 miles (800 km) south-eastern on position: Latitude 32-18.0S, Longitude 091-07.0E. The sails were torn and there was no one on board. After boarding they found that the last log entry was made on 2 January 2009.
Personal life
His son is the Slovenian film director Igor Šterk.