Suspect, $1-Million Newport Sailboat Sought

Authorities are searching for a $1-million sailboat that apparently was stolen from Harbor Island by a man who had been asking “suspicious questions” just days earlier, the boat’s owner said Saturday.

Robert Cirac, 44, of Laguna Hills said he asked police Thursday to watch his 65-foot Irwin motor-sailor after an unidentified man told a broker he wanted to buy the boat and began asking questions, such as where the vessel was anchored.

The boat, which Cirac purchased in February, was not for sale, the owner said.

“But [the man] kept pushing the broker to tell him where it’s at. . . . Then, to top it all off, he showed a business card, but then pulled it away when the broker tried to look at it,” said Cirac, who described himself as a builder-developer. “The broker contacted me, and I contacted the Police Department.”

At the owner’s request, police watched the boat, which was docked near the 100 block of Harbor Island Drive on Thursday and Friday. Cirac last saw the sailboat about 5 p.m. Friday.

Newport Beach police said they believe the boat was stolen between 9 and 11 p.m. Friday and could be headed to Mexico, where it could be sold or stripped of its parts.

“It was believed that the person had been watching the boat,” Cirac said. “And when there was a shift change, [the police officers] left, and when they came back, the boat was gone.”

After learning of its disappearance, Cirac hired a private plane to search for the boat, named Athenis, over a 600-square-mile area from Mexico to Palos Verdes.

Police alerted law enforcement officials from San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to be on the lookout for the vessel, which has two blue stripes on a beige sail. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts and return of the insured vessel, Cirac said.

The man suspected of stealing the boat was described by police and Cirac being in his late 40s, about 6-foot-2, weighing 220 pounds with sandy brown hair.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Newport Beach Police Department, (714) 644-3799.