Schooner Nina - MERGED 3 THREADS

[rossad]

West north west off Cape Reinga top of NZ is an area that gets hit everyweek this time of year. The Tasman shouldnt be crossed unless the weather is totally worked out. 60 knots can be regular with heavy breaking waves. Going north quickly away from the top and getting past the SPCZ as soon as possible.
It certainly is a worry. Nina made huge front page news today in the NZ herald.
Many people in northland would have met the crew. They put on an amazing dress ship over Christmas that the locals loved.

[Emmasw]

Hi Cherie. I'm sorry to hear the latest news today. I'm trying to find out more details on the 35-year-old British man so i can run a story in the UK. Would you be able to contact me if you have any details? Many thanks. Emma.

[Friend of Nina]

She did look nice. Rosemary did a good job.

[Friend of Nina]

New update. Likely more coastal searching from Raglan south to New Plymouth, NZ. Thanks. Cherie

[ternmarine]

Report from NZ Herald yesterday morning
Racing yacht missing: Seven lost in stormy seas - National - NZ Herald News

[opusnz]

It is not that unusual to cross the Tasman in June. May is probably more desirable but if you leave too early you can get caught by a tropical cyclone as you approach Australia. The Tasman Sea can be a nasty body of water at any time of year and you need to be ready for anything. From all accounts, Nina and her crew were prepared and very capable.

Now that the press is involved they seem eager to write everyone off but don't lose hope. For all we know they could be showing up in Aus right now with a good story to tell.

[opusnz]

[QUOTE=rossad;1272210]West north west off Cape Reinga top of NZ is an area that gets hit everyweek this time of year. The Tasman shouldnt be crossed unless the weather is totally worked out. 60 knots can be regular with heavy breaking waves. Going north quickly away from the top and getting past the SPCZ as soon as possible.

You don't cross the South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) going to Aus. It is normally much further north stretching from Solomons to Fiji and nowhere near their track.

You can never really work out the weather more than about 3 to 5 days in advance, even with the best weather forecaster. On a 10 to 15 day trip across the Tasman, you should be ready for anything.

[gcaptain]

It's a long shot but...


I run a similar forum for ship captains and a few of our members want to help with the search by analyzing the vessel's radio traffic and weather. The problem is we can't seem to figure out the boat's mmsi number or call sign. If anyone knows or can find this info please email it ASAP to info (at) Gcaptain.com

John

[boden36]

If a course near Lord Howe is a possibility, has anyone checked out Middleton reef?

Regards,
Richard.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by gcaptain

If anyone knows or can find this info please email it ASAP to info (at) Gcaptain.com

John

Hi John,

The final phone contact seems to be between Nina and Meteorologist Bob McDavitt. Bob is more than a local legend as he was instrumental in the uptake of modern meterology in NZ shipping. The Iridium records have been collected and the NZSAR have run some models with them giving their search areas.

Thats not to say that others couldnt find a different answer. But they have done it with great raw data.

Maybe contact with Bob McDavitt would give you some thing to go on.


All the best,


Mark

[rfnk]

Sorry to hear there's still no news but also glad to hear no wreckage has been found. But, at the risk of providing false hope, if they did drift a long way north, which is very possible, then the winds across the Tasman are likely to push them towards the Australian coast over the next few days.. There's quite a large NE flow developing now. Let's hope! All the best to your family Cherie!
Rick

[David_Old_Jersey]

No news is often good news.

Update from NZ (RCCNZ) @ 29 June 2013: 5.30pm (presumably NZ time).

Grave concerns for missing schooner: update 4 - Maritime New Zealand

"An extended shoreline search for the crew of the historic American 21m (70ft) schooner Nina missing en route from Opua in the Bay of Islands to Newcastle, Australia, has been undertaken for a second day today (29 June) without success.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) today tasked a helicopter to perform a coastal search from Port Waikato to New Plymouth. The Tauranga-based Phillips Search and Rescue helicopter departed at around 11.30am and was on scene at around 11.45am. "The helicopter crew searched the area for two hours, without success," said RCCNZ Mission Controller Neville Blakemore.

Today’s search followed an extensive aerial shoreline search undertaken along the northern west coast of New Zealand, an area determined by RCCNZ based on drift modelling from the last known position of the yacht on 4 June.

RCCNZ is liaising with Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC Australia), and will continue to review search options. RCC Australia is assisting RCCNZ with broadcasts on coastal radio. New Zealand Maritime Radio is continuing to conduct broadcasts in New Zealand’s search and rescue region. Mr Blakemore said a debrief would be held overnight, before a decision on the next stage of the search operation."

[Friend of Nina]

Seeing the waves and winds you guys are really adventurers of the sea! I don't know how anybody can want to cross the Tasman Sea in winter! My respect for you all!! Cherie

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

(...)

The final phone contact seems to be between Nina and Meteorologist Bob McDavitt.

(...)

The way (I think it was NZ Harald) wrote the story gave my a shocker: how I understood the meteorologist knew they were in very bad weather and then he knew they lost contact. Then there is a long (too long IMHO) gap and only ten days later someone (family members?) reports the event to authorities that are in power to take some action.

I hope what I was reading was wrong or that the way I interpreted the information was wrong. For it seems to me a ten days' gap between knowing things look bad and reporting the boat as potentially in trouble is ages.

b.

[dan360]

Latest BBC story "presumed sunk". BBC News - Missing yacht Nina 'presumed sunk' off New Zealand