Search off for missing Nelson yacht

Rescue authorities say there is little more they can do to find the missing Nelson yacht Manoah with two people on board.

Nelson woman Veronica Hunt and her Australian partner Gary Cull left Nelson on the 12.6 metre trimaran on June 8. They were heading for Rarotonga but have not been heard from since they left.

The Rescue Co ordination Centre in Wellington said today they had serious concerns for the safety of the pair but there was little they could do because the search area was so large and they had no starting point.

An air force Orion spent several days searching hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of ocean earlier this month but found no trace of the yacht and the search was suspended eight days ago.

It had an emergency location beacon and a high frequency receiver but no transmitter on board.

It was thought the yacht had enough food to last until the end of this month.

However, Steve Corbett from the Rescue Coordination Centre said they did not know if the yacht was still in one piece or if the crew was in a liferaft.

He said all ships in the area had been notified of the missing yacht but there was little else they could do.

"That is all we can do until we get anything new."

He said the rescue centre had predicted drift and wind strength and direction in the area in a bid to give the searching Orion a better chance of finding the yacht but nothing had been found.

"We are very concerned," Mr Corbett said. "It is an awful situation for the families but we are doing all we can," he said.

- NZPA