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Guo Chuan: Pacific world record attempt sailor 'missing' Guo Chuan: World record attempt Chinese sailor missing
(about 11 hours later)
A man trying to break the record for sailing across the Pacific alone has gone missing, Chinese media report. Chinese sailor Guo Chuan has gone missing while trying to break the record for crossing the Pacific alone.
The state-owned news agency Xinhua and radio network CRI reported that Guo Chuan's support team had lost contact with him. The US Coast Guard is now searching waters off Hawaii, where his boat was spotted without him onboard.
Mr Guo left San Francisco on 18 October and last posted on Facebook three days later from more than 2,000km (1,200 miles) offshore. Mr Guo's support team had lost contact with him at about 07:00 GMT on Tuesday.
He is trying to sail from San Francisco to Shanghai in 20 days. The sailor, who was the first Chinese person to sail solo around the world, left San Francisco on 18 October with the aim of reaching Shanghai within 20 days.
The current speed record for that journey is 21 days. Shortly after his team lost contact with him, a search plane was sent to his last coordinates, about 600 miles (966km) off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Mr Guo, 51, was the first Chinese person to sail around the world when he completed his trans-navigation of the globe in a 12m (about 40ft) yacht in 2013. Broken sail
Xinhua reported that his ground navigation team had not heard from him since 15:00 Beijing time on Tuesday (07:00 GMT). Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that the boat, the Qingdao China, was spotted with its main sail snapped off and in the water.
A search plane was sent, the agency said, which had located the boat but did not see Mr Guo on deck. Mr Guo was not seen onboard the 97ft (26.5m) trimaran.
US ships are now heading to the boat. A Coast Guard spokesman told AP news agency that Mr Guo had been in good health and was an experienced sailor, "so that gives us some hope".
Mr Guo was trying to break the current speed record for his journey, which is 21 days.
He was the first Chinese person to sail around the world alone when he completed his trans-navigation of the globe in a 12m yacht in 2013.