Clear weather but no sign of abandoned launch

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Hopes of finding the abandoned launch Ruamano are fading after a search in near-perfect conditions west of Auckland yesterday.

Visibility over a calm Tasman Sea was up to 70 nautical miles, giving aircraft passing over the area a chance to see the launch.

Ships have also been asked to look out for the historic vessel in a wide area 100 nautical miles west of the Manukau Harbour.

The launch was left wallowing under low power in seas up to 6m at 4 am on New Year's Day, when its crew of five men took refuge on a Korean freighter.

The Ruamano's skipper and owner, Sefton Powrie, believes his 75-year-old vessel has capsized and sunk.

The coordinator of an extensive air search on Monday, Captain Mike Austin, said yesterday that it was disappointing that there had been no sightings.

On economic grounds, he could not recommend to either the insurers or the owner that a further search be made for the vessel, which is valued at $150,000.

He said the engine of the launch was in gear when it was abandoned and it had enough fuel for about 50 hours' running.

Its tendency to move to starboard when under power was a complicating factor in estimating a position.

"She could be washed up on the coast anywhere from Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Egmont."

Hopes for today rest with the vigilance of the tuna fishing fleet that last night was starting to leave the Manukau Harbour to work in the search zone, after several days of sheltering from Tasman storms.

Captain Austin said that if the launch was found it could be damaged while under tow to port.

"If anyone found her I would hope they would seek my advice before putting her under tow."

The Ruamano was on its way from Cape Reinga to New Plymouth as part of a planned circumnavigation of New Zealand to raise funds for the Heart Foundation.

The vessel made the circumnavigation 75 years ago when owned by Auckland businessman Alf Court.

One of the crew, the foundation's former medical director Dr Boyd Swinburn, told friends yesterday that they had two pieces of luck during their rescue by the Korean ship New Laurel.

He said the ship was fully laden with logs. That made it sit low in the water and not rock around as much.

The other piece of luck, he said, was that the visitors' book and photo album from the first circumnavigation had been saved.

The New Laurel is expected at Inchon, South Korea, on January 18.