Lookout planned to pay tribute to beloved Port Lincoln sailor Deirdre Sibly
A beloved sailor found dead in suspected pirate attack waters will be remembered with a permanent memorial on the island where she spent decades.
Friends of Deirdre “Cookie” Sibly, who died in mysterious circumstances off the coast of South Africa last week, plan to pay tribute to the Port Lincoln sailor by erecting a lookout on an island off the Eyre Peninsula.
Ms Sibly was found dead on her yacht along with her travelling companion Pascal near Madagascar after issuing a distress signal on Thursday, with her family fearing she may have fallen victim to a pirate attack.
Eric Kotz is part of the Friends of Reevesby Island Group, a team of older Eyre Peninsula residents who undertake conservation projects on an island off the coast of the EP.
He said Ms Sibly was part of the group, and had been a regular visitor to Reevesby Island for more than 30 years alongside her husband Colin, who passed away in 2019.
Mr Kotz said Ms Sibly was a “wonderful mariner” and photographer, and was “absolutely at home on the sea”.
“She came and settled in Port Lincoln and she became one of our regular crew that went out to Reevesby Island and worked on the restoration of the old homestead out there,” he said.
Mr Kotz said his friend was “superbly fit” and energetic, and was often out sailing on her yacht the Island Pearl.
The last time Mr Kotz saw her was when she sought his advice before a sailing trip to the south pacific, an area Mr Kotz, an avid sailor himself, was familiar with.
“I rang up Fran Solly, her closest friend in Lincoln and I said how did Cookie get on with trip to Fiji?”
“She said we’ve hardly seen her, she hit the deck running and when she got back she said she’s off to South Africa, that was the sort of person she was.”
Mr Kotz said ‘Cookie’ was known as ‘the harbourmaster’ in Port Lincoln because she took in “wandering souls”, saying that that was how she met her Pascal, who was found dead on the yacht alongside her.
He also said that her beloved yacht the Island Pearl remained docked in Port Lincoln, while the boat she was found on was one she and Pascal had hired in Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean from which they’d begun the voyage to South Africa.
Mr Kotz said he and the other members of the Friends of Reevesby Island Group, or FRIG, planned to hold a private memorial service on the island and build “Cookie’s Lookout” on a prominent sand hill as a permanent monument to Ms Sibly.
“We’re very keen to put a look out there because that’s where Cookie used to go,” he said.
“It’s a perfect spot.”
“There’s a panoramic view of all of Reevesby Island, surrounding islands and you can see the beautiful beaches and everything like that.”
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