Grave fears are held for the seven-strong crew of a classic schooner which has not been heard from more than three weeks after leaving Northland.
The 21m (70ft) schooner Nina left Opua in the Bay of Islands for Newcastle in Australia on May 29. Its last contact was on June 4 when the vessel was 370 nautical miles west-northwest of Cape Reinga.
Built in the US in 1928, the schooner was one of the stars of the 2012 Tall Ships and Classic Invitational, a sailing regatta hosted by the Russell Boating Club every January. It won the Tall Ships trophy as well as the Joe Cotton Memorial Cup for first wooden boat across the line. Its owners, David and Rosemary Dyche, are well known in Northland boating circles.
The family was interviewed by the Advocate in December last year as they spent Christmas moored at Whangarei's Town Basin. They had been on the boat since leaving their Florida home in 2008.
The schooner has a proud history, including a win in the 1928 New York to Spain race it was originally built for. It also had a stint as the flagship for the New York Yacht Club after World War II.
Tall Ships race organiser Christine Hall, of Russell, said club members lived in hope that the vessel had taken water on board, ruining its communications, and was limping to safety under jury rig. "It's very distressing for us who have admired the boat for many years, and would be a great tragedy if the family have been lost as well."
Nina's ocean racing record was peerless, Ms Hall said. "She took on every race in her time and she often cleaned up."
Kevin Banaghan, of the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), said the missing crew comprised six Americans - men aged 17, 28 and 58, and women aged 18, 60 and 73 - and a British man aged 35. The vessel was equipped with a satellite phone, a spot beacon, and an emergency beacon. The beacon had not been activated.
Mr Banaghan said a communications search was instigated on June 14 after concerns were raised by family and friends. When there was no response and no sightings reported by other vessels since June 4 an RNZAF Orion conducted a 160,000sq nautical mile search on June 25 in an area north-northeast of New Zealand. On June 26 a second search of 324,000sq nautical miles was conducted between northern New Zealand and Australia.
Mr Banaghan said unfortunately no sign of the vessel had been found.
"Our records show that conditions at the last known position for the vessel, on June 4, were very rough, with winds of 80km/h, gusting to 110km/h, and swells of up to 8m.
"We do hold grave concerns for Nina and her crew but remain hopeful of a positive outcome," he said.
RCCNZ spokesman Steve Rendle said the Orion had flown to Australia and back on Wednesday with no sightings, and yesterday's conditions made searching impossible.
"There is always hope. It's not unheard of to lose all comms and they may have been blown out of the search area," he said.