KEY POINTS:
A chilling cry for help was left on the hull of the wrecked New Zealand yacht Manoah, found earlier this month on a small island in the Tonga group of islands.
"Help 2 p.o.b" was written in white paint on the blue hull, indicating two people were on
board, Tonga's acting police commander said.
Taiela Faletau said police suspected the yacht had capsized and that its two occupants were at first still alive, inside the hull.
"We don't actually have any clue as to what happened after that."
The wreckage of the multi-hulled vessel was found on Uonuku Island, halfway between Nuku'alofa and the Vava'u islands group, in Tonga.
Tongan police told Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) the wreckage was found on February 7 and the name Manoah could clearly be seen on the wreckage.
The 12.6m trimaran left Nelson with two crew aboard on June 8 2005 bound for Rarotonga but it was deemed overdue and a massive sea search was launched.
The subsequent search by a RNZAF Orion aircraft, which covered around 370,000 square kilometres, failed to find any sign of the missing crew and the search was suspended on 16 July 2005.
Mr Faletau said only one part of the boat was washed ashore, covered with barnacles and seaweed.
Some property was retrieved from the boat, but he declined to say what it was.
Mr Faletau said the wrecked boat was still on the island where it was found and was now the responsibility of the harbour master.
Nelson coroner Ian Smith last week warned that foreign-flagged yachts may not be up to New Zealand safety standards.
Mr Smith ruled crew members Verona Mary Hunt and Garry Cull accidentally drowned on their way to the Cook Islands.
Mr Cull built and registered the wooden yacht in Australia.
He sailed it to New Zealand in February 2004, where he began a relationship with Ms Hunt.
On June 9 2005, an acquaintance of the couple received a text message saying they were sailing off Wellington, headed for Rarotonga. It was their last communication.
The couple would have been vulnerable to being washed overboard, as their were no lifelines around the Manoah, Maritime New Zealand said.
It did not have a liferaft nor jack lines to clip on to and there was no apparent "man overboard" equipment, such as a life ring with a light and flag, and no parachute flares.
Mr Smith said the law requiring pleasure boats leaving the country to reach high safety standards applied only to New Zealand-registered yachts.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority regulations were compatible to New Zealand's for racing yachts but did not cover cruising yachts.
- NZPA
