Dear Kenneth F. Crutchlow

Nenad has vanished in a storm off coast of Ireland sometime after
September 30 2001 and so far nothing has
been found that can be traced to Nenad or his boat.

Do you mind announcing on your main homepage that
the family is planning a memorial service

4PM Dec 16, 2001 at
Chicago Sinai Congregation,
15 W Delaware Pl, Chicago, IL 60610-3306

and keeping that note there until Dec 17?
There might be people checking your homepage interested in
contributing to the memorial, people that I have not reached using
Nenad's email lists.

I have collected some pictures, stories, emails, news items etc. on
http://cns.physics.gatech.edu/~predrag/friends/Nenad/index.html
I am particularly interested in recollections that would help
me understand why Nenad had to row across Atlantic? His
"It is a question to which there is no answer" was no answer.


                Predrag Cvitanovic' (Nenad's younger brother)
School of Physics
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0430, USA
             +1:404/385-2502  office  
404/385-2506  fax
404/881-6006  home
home:   979 Rosedale Rd, Atlanta, GA 30306

NENAD BELIC - "LUN" SEARCH AREA UPDATE (click link to left for map and coordinates)

Please help with the search. Contact Adrian Belic from within Ireland at tel: 086-360-8584 and from abroad at: +353-86-360-8584 or Roko Belic in U.S. at 415-850-2729 or e-mail at Wadirum1@aol.com

THANKS TO ALL IRISH AND ENGLISH AND FISHERMEN AND PILOTS AND ALL HELPING WITH FINDING
 NENAD BELIC    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, October 8th, 2001

An open letter to the international seafaring community, coastal communities and concerned citizens of Ireland,

My name is Adrian Belic. It may have come to your attention over the past week, that my father, NENAD BELIC, is lost at sea off Ireland's west coast. He is attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean rowing solo on a specially designed rowboat named "LUN". He left Cape Cod, USA on May 11th, 2001.

Our family received a phone call from my father on Thursday, September 27th on his satellite phone. He was in very high spirits and looking forward to landing along the south west coast of Ireland within two weeks. He and the boat were in good shape and he was very well aware of the storm that was heading his way. He had made appropriate preparations for the storm and was beginning to ride it out. He had been in numerous storms during his crossing and had managed them all very well.

On the evening of Sunday, September 30th, 2001 at approximately 21:30 GMT, the British and Irish Coast Guard received a transmission from my father's Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). It placed him about 230 miles west of the Irish coastal town of Dingle. When the Coast Guard arrived on the scene with two planes and a helicopter a few hours later, their searchlights located only the EPIRB floating in the water. There was no sign of the boat, my father, or any debris. The structural strength and "built-in buoyancy" of the boat and the lack of debris lead us to believe that the boat is still afloat and it was simply separated from the EPIRB (not an uncommon occurrence in high seas). It is likely that his communication equipment was ruined during the storm. My father has spare bottles of drinking water and a manual desalination device that would allow him to survive for many days.

A few years ago a very similar situation occurred in which two rowers were lost at sea. According to instructions, they had deployed their EPIRB by attaching it to their boat with a rope. In the storm the rope broke and the Coast Guard found the EPIRB floating. Only after days of searching were the boaters located and rescued. (please see Boreham brothers articles at www.oceanrowing.com)

A group of the world's leading experts on ocean rowing have made statements supporting the idea that my dad's boat is in tact and floating. Please see "messages of hope" at www.oceanrowing.com

If you, your family or friends have any connection to the sea please take a moment and make yourself visually familiar with the boat. It is bright yellow and white above the waterline and gray underneath. It is 21 feet long, 5 feet wide, 4 feet tall. Also, please become aware of its location from the first signal intercept by the Coast Guard September 30 at 51.30 North by 15.48 West to where the US oceanographic experts believe he is today (Monday, Oct. 8) at approximately 52.2 degrees north by 10.8 degrees west. That would place him about 70 miles off the coast of Clifden, Galway.

That said…
The Atlantic Ocean is vast and difficult to predict. He could be anywhere off the west coast of Ireland.  As you pass this information on to your family and friends, please do not limit yourself when considering the people you send this to or speak with. The real search area is anywhere you or your friends and family are along the shore or out at sea along the western Irish coast, be that by boat (fishing, ferry, freighter, etc), plane, helicopter, etc. The latest updated coordinates and information will be posted everyday or as they become available on this
website www.oceanrowing.com.

There is also a large photo of my dad and his boat on main photo link page. I ask you, if it is appropriate, to print it out and post it where people who are heading out to sea can see it, perhaps on a message board or similar location. It would also be great to have this photo on board ships and aircraft heading out to sea this week. If there is anything that I can do to make this happen, please tell me. Thank you.

My family and friends are confident and determined, but we are also realistic. This will be my father's second week needing help. We implore you to continue spreading this information. You never know, any one of you or your friends might be the key to saving my father's life.

On behalf of my family and friends, I would like to thank the Irish and British Coast Guards for their heroic efforts. We are also eternally indebted to the many Irish people whom I have spoken with and/or met in the past week here in Ireland who have given their support.

One more note:
The British and Irish Coast Guard have ceased any search by boat or plane for my father as of Thursday October 4th. If there is anyone who can directly assist in the search efforts, please contact me on my Irish mobile phone 24 hours a day at +353-(0)86-360-8584 or by email at blueeyes_smile_4u@yahoo.com. We are specifically looking for boats and aircraft that can search, but any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

With deepest gratitude…

Yours truly,

Adrian Belic, family, and friends