ROCKPORT — A Rockport sailor received a call yesterday morning no seaman wishes to get: "What happened to your boat?"

Shortly after 8 a.m., James Tew of 23 Atlantic Ave. went down to the end of T-Wharf, next to Sandy Bay Yacht Club, to check on his 32-foot sailboat Juno. It was gone from its usual mooring.

Tew quickly notified the local harbormasters, the Coast Guard at Harbor Loop in Gloucester, and Rockport Police. It is believed the white 1968 sailboat, sans sails, which sleeps four and is worth $20,000 to $25,000, has been stolen.

"I was on the boat (Wednesday), so when I left the boat (Wednesday), it was still in the harbor about 3 p.m.," Tew said. "I got a call about 8 a.m. from people who know my boat, asking where the boat was. So, I went down to find out what they were talking about, and of course it wasn't there.

"The keys were in it, so everything was accessible," Tew said. "It's that kind of town, you never expect ... Looking back, maybe I should have locked it up. I'm probably not the only one who leaves his boat (so it can be) easily pilfered."

The Juno was not the only boat to go missing yesterday; a Zodiac was also reported missing from the head of the harbor yesterday morning.

"We think the Zodiac was stolen as they made their way out," Harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch said.

Tew said he has been trying to sell the Juno for some time, with a broker and on the manufacturer's Internet site. The Lesches said it is possible the theft is tied to those Internet connections.

"This was really planned out, it was thick fog this morning," Story said. He said the boat was taken sometime after 2 a.m. yesterday.

A tug boat crew reported possibly seeing the Juno outside Thacher Island at 5:20 yesterday morning, Story and Lesch said.

"Boats thefts like this, especially out in the middle of Rockport Harbor, are very unusual," Tew said. "It's a very unusual type of boat to swipe, it's not the type of boat to joyride in. It's a big slow sailboat."

Lesch and Story said no other big boat, especially one the size of Juno, has been stolen from Rockport Harbor during their tenure.

"The boat doesn't have sails on it, so whoever has it is motoring," Tew said late yesterday afternoon. "They'll have to come in to get diesel fuel somewhere. I'm sure it's long gone from these waters, it's probably already in Boston at the speed it can go."

Tew said he went out with the harbormasters yesterday morning for about an hour and a half looking for the Juno. But the fog was so thick, they couldn't see anything. He said the Lesches also sent an alert to all harbormasters in the state to be on the lookout for the boat, along with the New Hampshire Marine Patrol.

Tew said he also visited the Coast Guard on Harbor Loop in Gloucester to report the theft. He said the Coast Guard has an alert system for all of its East Coast stations, which have also been told to keep an eye out for the Juno.

"I was surprised they all put out alerts so fast, though I shouldn't be," Tew said. "I knew they have systems in place to deal with this, I just didn't think I would need it."

Andrea Holbrook may be contacted at aholbrook@gloucestertimes.com.