Search for ship's crew focuses on North

A search for a classic racing yacht and its seven crew has shifted from the Tasman Sea to Northland's west coast and outer islands.

The seven-strong crew of the 21-metre schooner Nina left Opua on May 29, bound for Newcastle in Australia, and were last heard from on June 4.

Attempts to contact the crew have so far proved fruitless.

Searchers shifted their focus yesterday to Northland's west coast. A twin-engined Piper Chieftain with a pilot and three spotters on board scoured the coast from Tauroa Pt, near Ahipara, along Ninety Mile Beach to North Cape, then continued to the Three Kings Islands. Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman Steve Rendle said the aircraft was expected to continue until dusk. Searchers would assess their options overnight before deciding whether to continue.

"We are now looking for a life raft or debris, so obviously we remain extremely concerned," he said.

The 84-year-old wooden schooner, owned by American David Dyche, 58, won many racing trophies in its time. It was built for a race from New York to Spain in 1928, which it won, and is well known in Whangarei and the Bay of Islands. It won the 2012 Tall Ships race hosted by the Russell Boating Club. Mr Dyche was travelling with his 60-year-old wife, Rosemary, their son, David, 17, a 35-year-old British man and well-known maritime technology expert Evi Nemeth, 73. An 18-year-old American woman and 28-year-old American man were also on board.

A text sent by Ms Nemeth to Kiwi meteorologist Bob McDavitt on June 4, when the vessel was 370 nautical miles north-northwest of Cape Reinga, was the last known communication from the vessel.

A day earlier she called him by satellite phone, saying: "The weather's turned nasty. How do we get away from it?"

Search co-ordinator Dave Wilson said rescuers concerns were centred on the fact the yacht had two satellite communication systems, two VHF radios and an emergency beacon, but had not issued a distress signal or any communication since June 4. The 8m swells and wind gusts of up to 110km/h at Nina's last known location meant that debris, if the vessel had capsized, would be hard to find.

"If there was something catastrophic that had happened, [with] the sea conditions and the wind, it's likely that any debris on the surface would have dissipated quite quickly," Mr Wilson said.