Guo Chuan (Photo : Twitter)
The search for a Chinese sailor who was reported missing in the Pacific earlier this week while trying to set a world record has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Go Chuan was attempting to sail non-stop across the Pacific Ocean within 20 days. The current world trans-Pacific record is 21 days, set by crews on board the Italian Maserati.
The U.S. Coast Guard was searching waters of Hawaii, where his boat was found without him aboard.
Rescue personnel boarded his drifting yacht and confirmed he was not there but found his life jacket, according to the BBC.
"Our deepest condolences go out not only to his family and friends but also to his racing team and the sailing community," Coast Guard Captain Robert Hendrickson said in a statement to the press.
Guo "was a professional mariner with a deep passion for sailing," he said.
A professional sailor for over 10 years, Guo gained fame in China after becoming the first Chinese to circumnavigate the globe alone in 2013. He also holds the world record for sailing across the Arctic Ocean Northeast Passage non-stop in 2015.
Guo set sail from San Francisco on Oct. 18 in his 97ft (26.5m) trimaran to travel an estimated 7,000 nautical miles to Shanghai. His support team lost contact with him on Tuesday.
A search and rescue aircraft was sent shortly afterward to his last coordinates, about 600 miles (1,000 km) off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. His boat, the Qingdao China, was spotted with its mainsail snapped off and in the water.
Guo's team posted on his official website that the "crew of USS Mankin Island has visited the boat but did not find Guo" and have collected all of Guo's belongings aboard for his family.
