Grave fears are held for the seven-strong crew of a classic schooner which has not been heard from more than three weeks after leaving Northland.
The 21m (70ft) schooner Nina left Opua in the Bay of Islands for Newcastle in Australia on May 29. Its last contact was on June 4 when the vessel was 370 nautical miles west-northwest of Cape Reinga.
Built in the US in 1928, the schooner was one of the stars of the 2012 Tall Ships and Classic Invitational, a sailing regatta hosted by the Russell Boating Club every January. It won the Tall Ships trophy as well as the Joe Cotton Memorial Cup for first wooden boat across the line. Its owners, David and Rosemary Dyche, are well known in Northland boating circles.
The family was interviewed by the Advocate in December last year as they spent Christmas moored at Whangarei's Town Basin. They had been on the boat since leaving their Florida home in 2008.
The schooner has a proud history, including a win in the 1928 New York to Spain race it was originally built for. It also had a stint as the flagship for the New York Yacht Club after World War II.