A search is taking place off the North Carolina coast for a missing boater from Clearwater. 

  • Boater from Clearwater missing off NC coast
  • Richard Tomlinson, 82, was sailing to Maine
  • Search ongoing - sailboat wreckage found, no sign of Tomlinson 

Richard Tomlinson, 82, of Clearwater is missing near Frisco, N.C. His wrecked sailboat washed ashore Monday in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. 

A Jayhawk helicopter and a Coast Guard cutter were dispatched Monday to search for him. 

There has been no sign of him. 

Tomlinson was reportedly sailing from Clearwater to Maine.

His friend Steve Hodges described Tomlinson as an avid sailor who didn't let his age slow him down.

"He's just so independent, so self sufficient, that he thrived on that," Hodges said.

Hodges remains hopeful that Tomlinson will be found.

"I can't imagine him not being able to handle a situation in a sailboat," Hodges said. "He is a sailor."