Jacek Bielecki, 56, a United Kingdom citizen and Newport resident, called his stepdaughter in Newport at 11:55 a.m. yesterday, saying the boat was in distress and the crew needed to be rescued immediately, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 16, 2006

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

Coast Guard aircrews were searching the waters off Nova Scotia last night for a sailboat with three Newport residents aboard, after the operator placed a distress call to his stepdaughter in Newport by satellite phone.

Jacek Bielecki, 56, a British subject and Newport resident, called his stepdaughter at 11:55 a.m. yesterday, saying the boat and crew were in distress and needed to be rescued immediately, the Coast Guard said.

The boat, Free Spirit, was heading from Europe to Newport when it ran into trouble about 200 nautical miles south of Halifax, where seas were reported to be 23 to 30 feet and the winds 50 to 90 knots, the Coast Guard said. There had been no further communication with the crew as of midnight, Petty Officer Lisa Hennings said.

Besides Jacek Bielecki, the boat contained his son, Jack Bielecki, 19, a British subject and Newport resident; Molly Finn, 21, a U.S. citizen and Newport resident; and Richard White, 34, a U.K. citizen, the Coast Guard said.

Although unable to locate the Free Spirit, the crew of a HU-25 Falcon jet from Air Station Cape Cod did spot another boat -- Dad's Dream, which had a broken mast and was taking on water -- 115 nautical miles south of Halifax. A HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter hoisted aboard all three persons from the 43-foot-long Dad's Dream, which had a Canadian flag, and took them to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.