The missing skipper of the yacht discovered drifting off the Australian coast has made spiritual contact with his family and has convinced them that he is still alive, they claim.

Hope Himing, the niece of Derek Batten, 56, the skipper of the catamaran Kaz II, said: “I don’t think he’s got a lot left in him but I actually don’t think he’s dead, either.”

The discovery of the 32ft (9m) yacht a week ago with its table set for a meal, laptop computers on, clothing neatly stacked on the deck and a fishing line trailing from the stern has mystified search and rescue organisations.

Queensland police, convinced that big seas pitched the trio off the yacht, have suspended their search for the men — brothers James Tunstead, 63, Peter Tunstead, 69, and Mr Batten. They believe they could not have survived.

Mr Batten’s relatives said yesterday that they believed he may have been kidnapped while at sea.

“My mum and I are both spiritualists,” Ms Himing said. “My mum’s had a really strong feeling from Des that’s he’s somewhere dark and he can’t see . . . so everything we can do to get people out there looking for him again is a huge thing.”

The Kaz IIset out from Airlie Beach in north Queensland on Sunday, April 15, intending to sail along Australia’s vast northern coastline to the crew’s hometown of Perth.

Using GPS (global positioning system) data extracted from the yacht’s tracking system, police have established that it was last steered late on the day of departure from Airlie Beach — suggesting that the crew were lost overboard ten days ago.

Ms Hining told the Australian Associated Press that she believed the unusual circumstances of the yacht suggested foul play. The only damage found on the yacht was a shredded sail. The boat’s engine was running but the propeller shaft was engaged in neutral.

“If it was bad weather, why would their fishing lines be out?” said Ms Himing. “Why would their clothes be piled up; if it were that bad that it knocked three experienced sailors off, why wouldn’t they have put on their life jackets? It just doesn’t add up for us.”

She believed that there was strong evidence that the Kaz II had been boarded by the occupants of a rogue vessel. She pointed out that the boat’s rubber fenders were out, suggesting the crew were preparing for contact with a second yacht. Ms Himing said that the families of all the crew members felt that the rescue authorities had called off the search for survivors too soon. “The hardest thing for us now is the waiting and not knowing,” she said. “You can deal with a bad accident. They have passed away because you know. But when you don’t know and you have so many questions hanging over it, it’s difficult.”

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