A BID was under way yesterday to locate the fishing boat which sank off Orkney with the loss of two lives. Rescuers believe the Pentland Spray was overwhelmed and could be in one piece on the sea-bed.

More debris from the 23ft creel boat was found at the weekend, but there was no trace of the two men who had been on board.

The men were the skipper, 32-year-old Mr Richard Mowat, of Naval Hall, Longhope, and crewman Mr John Rosie, 43, of St Colms Quadrant, Longhope.

A Pentland Coastguards spokeswoman said all items identified as being from the from the Pentland Spray would have floated free when the vessel sank.

The spokeswoman said: ``The boat is presumed to be on the bottom and intact. Nothing from the boat is damaged, suggesting that she was overwhelmed rather than broken up.''

The search for the missing men was called off at mid-day on Saturday. Dr Tony Trickett, the island's GP and lifeboat secretary, said the tragedy had brought back memories of 1969 when eight men from the community died in the Longhope lifeboat disaster.

He said: ``The strength of this community never ceases to amaze me. Everybody has done their bit to help the search.

``The auxiliary coastguard teams have been augmented by dozens of people and they've gone out day after day until they've dropped.''