An American schooner missing in the South Pacific with seven people aboard sent an undelivered text message a month ago saying its sails were shredded and it was travelling at four knots.
Briton Matthew Wootton, 35, from Lancaster, was travelling on board the 70-foot (21m) schooner named Nina with six Americans.
New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre has released the last-known message from the Nina after seeking it from satellite phone company Iridium and the US State Department.
The June 4 message with a misspelling read: "Thanks storm sails shredded last night, now bare poles. Goining 4kt 310deg will update course info @ 6PM".
Authorities believe the Nina probably sank in a storm that day but have continued an aerial search, hoping that survivors may have made it into a life raft the boat was carrying or to land. The 85-year-old classic wooden sailing boat had left New Zealand six days earlier bound for Australia.
Nigel Clifford, Maritime New Zealand's general manager of safety and response services, said the message indicated the Nina would update its position about six hours later, which it never did.
"While it shows that Nina had survived the storm up to that point, very poor weather continued in the area for many hours and has been followed by other storms," Mr Clifford said in a statement.
Authorities didn't state why the text message went undelivered or who it was sent to. Maritime New Zealand said it would review its search options again overnight.
The 85-year-old schooner Nina left Opua on New Zealand's North Island on 29 May.
The last known communications with the crew were on 3 and 4 June - when conditions were very rough, said Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), with winds of 80km/h (50mph) gusting to 110 km/h and swells of up to 8m (26 feet).
Ms Nemeth called and texted New Zealand meteorologist Bob McDavitt to seek advice on how to cope with the conditions, and was advised to ride it out.
After family and friends failed to hear from the crew, rescuers were alerted on 14 June. They began trying to make contact with the vessel, but were said not to be unduly alarmed as it was equipped with an emergency locator beacon which had not been activated, as well as a satellite phone and spot beacon.
But on 28 June aerial searches began, and two extensive sea-based searches as well as two shoreline searches have yielded no sign of the vessel or crew, said RCCNZ.
Search leader Neville Blakemore said it was now logical to assume the boat sank quickly in a storm, preventing the crew from activating the devices on board - though he added it was still possible survivors could be found.
Friday 5 July 2013
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/sails-text-from-missing-boat-29395148.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23110736
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