Ghost Boat

Strange doings along the Queensland Coast:

An unmanned yacht found drifting off the north Queensland coast had computers running and even food on a table ready to eat - but no crew, puzzled emergency services say.

...Police say the missing men are from Western Australia, and aged 56, 63 and 69. Two of the men are related and the other is a friend.

They planned to take the 10-metre catamaran Kaz II, bought at Airlie Beach, back to Western Australia, first travelling north.

The air and sea search continues spanning the Whitsundays in the south to Davies Reef and Cape Bowling Green, near Ayr, police said.

Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) spokesman Jon Hall said crews were puzzled by what they found because "everything appeared normal".

"It looked like the boat had been recently abandoned. The engine was still running in neutral (but) one of the sails had been damaged," Mr Hall said.

"There was a laptop computer on board and running with power, the computers on board were running, all of their clothing was still there.

"The table was actually set for a meal with food and cutlery in place.

"The radio was working, the GPS was working and things below deck were normal except for the absence of crew."

The GPS will be analysed for clues to see if the boat's passage can be tracked backwards over the previous five days to help the search.