A verbal stoush between two truth seekers and a Napier yacht around the infamous 1998 Sounds murder case has come alive.
Author Ian Wishart claims he has debunked a theory held by a group called the Maritime Research Group, led by Warwick Jenness, which he says claimed a Napier yacht was involved in the case.
Mr Wishart claims the group mistook the 40ft ketch Antares for a boat of the same name owned by an Australian family, which was caught up in a cocaine bust in Australia in 1998.
Mr Wishart said it there was no link between the two boats, and the Maritime Research Group constructed a "conspiracy theory" wrongly because of the Australian Anteres' drug links.
But Mr Jenness, director of the Maritime Research Group, said the claim Mr Wishart has made in the article has no relevance whatsoever to the group's beliefs.