- Two bodies found on yacht in Tunks Park, Cammeray
- ‘Taloha’ is a $300,000 luxury boat with a private bathroom
- Do you know anything else? Email: candace.sutton@mailonline.com
The stunning yacht on which a man and woman were found dead overnight was a $300,000 luxury vessel that had been racing off Australia’s east coast.
The bodies of the couple, aged between 50 and 60, were discovered inside the 15-metre-long Taloha when NSW Water Police boarded at around 9pm on Wednesday.
The family boat, previously owned by a couple from Church Point on the northern beaches, was moored at Tunks Park Marina, Cammeray, on Sydney’s north shore.
The couple are believed to have told friends they would spend Monday night on board the boat, but alarm bells were raised when they failed to return.
It is now feared they may have been dead on board for days before their bodies were found.
A man who asked not to be identified rushed to the scene after hearing the news, fearing the couple were his friends.
“I have two friends who fit that description who are doing renovations and were camping aboard their yacht overnight,” the man said. The Daily Telegraph reported.
Firefighters initially entered the yacht wearing breathing apparatus over fears there were noxious gases on board the vessel.
The yacht features three en-suite cabins, mahogany fittings and a galley with stone bench seating, and has raced from Newport to Airlie Beach in Queensland.
It is believed that the last time it was sold was in 2022 and that the boat’s annual registration was renewed just four weeks ago. The identities of the deceased couple have not yet been officially confirmed as police investigations continue.
Sydney Water Police and Fire and Rescue officers at the scene where the bodies of a couple were found on a luxury yacht on Thursday, three days after they were last seen by their loved ones.
The 47-foot Taloha yacht was sold in 2022 and had previously belonged to a Church Point couple, then became a family boat and also a racing yacht along the East Coast.
According to a boating expert with personal knowledge of Taloha, concerns about fumes likely indicate a gas leak from the galley’s cooking equipment or carbon monoxide from the engine or a heater.
“Each vessel requires a gas certificate that must be renewed every 10 years,” he explained.
“(A gas leak) is not unheard of. It has happened before, and (especially) if the ship was completely closed because it was cold. What a terrible tragedy!”
Police took several identified items from the boat for forensic examination as two bodies were seen being carried off the boat on stretchers.
An autopsy will be carried out in the coming days to confirm the identity of the man and woman and determine the cause of death.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Inside the mahogany-clad luxury yacht Taloha, where the bodies of a couple in their 50s and 60s were found Thursday morning after they failed to return home Tuesday.
Emergency services were called to a mooring at Tunks Park last night due to concerns for the welfare of two people believed to have been on the 47ft yacht (pictured, emergency services at the scene)
When police arrived and approached Taloha (above, the crime scene on Thursday), they found the bodies of a man and a woman aged between 50 and 60.