Nina families cling to hope

Matthew Wootton disappeared with six other crew members of the yacht Nina.

It has been two years since their loved ones disappeared, but relatives are still searching.

Family of the seven crew who vanished with their yacht, Nina, in the Tasman Sea two years ago still hold out hope the nautical mystery will be solved.

David Dyche, 58, his 60-year-old wife, Rosemary, and their 17-year-old son, David, plus Evi Nemeth, 73, Kyle Jackson, 28, Matthew Wootton, 35, and Danielle Wright, 18, were aboard the vintage American-flagged schooner when it sailed from Opua in Northland on May 29, 2013, bound for Australia.

It was last heard from on June 4 during a storm.

A massive New Zealand-led search found nothing, but loved ones of the crew who had joined the Dyches on their dream voyage around the world have continued looking for any sign of the missing yacht, mounting private aerial searches in the Pacific Ocean. There has never been any trace of wreckage.

Wootton's mother, Sue, told the Herald on Sunday although it was unrealistic to retain hopes of finding any survivors, the search for answers was not over.

"Our main hope would be one day finding out some clue as to what happened two years ago," she said.

Until last year Wootton's family had clung to the hope he was still alive. Sue and her husband, Ian, cancelled plans for a 40th wedding celebration and replaced it with a "Celebration of Life".

"We still had hope that Matthew was alive so the celebration reflected that possibility, while acknowledging the strong possibility that Matthew and the Nina crew had died."

A focal point of the celebration was the lighting of seven candles of "hope", one for each of Nina's crew.

"On Matthew's 37th birthday in March this year we re-lit the candles and we will continue to do so at such memorable times," she said.

The mother of American teen sailor Danielle Wright said she was still hoping those on board Nina were alive.

"We have read some pretty amazing survival stories and so we hope and pray that Nina with all seven crew members will still be found," Robin Wright said from Los Angeles.

Sue Wootton said the anniversary of the yacht's disappearance was particularly difficult to mark as while it was the last day of communication with Nina, everything still remained a mystery.