Another missing yacht

[Alan Wheeler]

We had a news break on our NZ TV news last night of a Yacht(sailboat for you US guy's) that may have capsized off the North Otago coast. I what expectantly for an update on tonights news, but nothing. The only thing I could find was this. Search and Rescue to review yacht search | NATIONAL | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
Has any of the Kiwi's heard anything more on this event. Looks like the Yacht may not exist, but I have heard nothing more.
It will be annoying if it is a Hoax, but on the other hand, they are talking 70kts to maybe as high as 85kts out there tonight, so I wouldn't want to be out there in it.

[cooper]

Oamaru man Hugh Franklin last night alerted police to what he believed was a capsized 14-foot yacht about 3km offshore.
A helicopter was deployed with night-vision capabilities and local fishing trawler the Jane Marie conducted a three hour sweep of the area on Monday night.
A North Otago helicopter was again in the air this morning searching for the stricken yacht. Marine adviser for North Otago search and rescue John McLellan said nothing to indicate a missing vessel had been found.
"We have no reason to believe that there is a vessel down out there but that doesn't mean to say we're not continuing on watching reports. It's just stood down in the meantime," McLellan said.
Police continued lines of inquiry into the mystery yacht. "What we were looking for was any sign of wreckage or anything blown on to the beach which we would expect to come ashore anywhere,'' McLellan said.
There were parts of wreckages discovered along the coastline but these were not believed to have any connection to the mystery yacht because they appeared to have been there for some time.
"We won't be putting an aircraft up again in the air unless we get further sightings or reports that we need to look in to." Last night, Franklin admitted he was starting to doubt himself over sighting the vessel.
"This is what puzzles me, it was there one minute and the next minute it's not there. It just can't disappear in to thin air," he said.
"I'm beginning to believe I've gone insane."

.................

[Steve Pope]

I thought that when it was first reported it was possibly a small sailing dinghy (laser / cherub or somesuch ??) and that the sighting was not at all positive. Someone thought they saw something.

[Alan Wheeler]

A sailing dinghy 3Km off the North Otago coast in a Southerly air stream. (Oamaru to be precise) For those that know that area, does anything in that above description seem hard to believe??

[Steve Pope]

Yup, there has not been any media update, or reports of wreckage, so lets hope it was a case of seeing something that wasn't there. It happens all the time with UFO's.

[Mike Banks]

It is amazing just how quickly a vessel can disappear under the waves--there one minute gone the next. Especially with a few pounds of lead on the keel.

[beau]

Mike, you wouldn't be bashing monohulls again would you?

[Mike Banks]

I love monohulls--if I was going to sail in really tough conditions I would like a steel Van de Stadt. However--mostly I am amongst coral reefs and tropical seas--so my little trimaran does fine as long as I keep it off said coral--.