KEY POINTS:
A chance find by a Kaipara tour operator could shed some light on the whereabouts of a yacht that was lost at sea 28 years ago.
Anthony Taylor, who operates Big Foot Tours on Ripiro Beach, found a cockpit grating just north of the monument on Omamari Beach.
Maritime historian Noel Hilliam believes it could belong to the yacht Smackwater Jack.
The yacht and its four crew disappeared during a race from Hobart to Auckland in 1980.
Mr Hilliam said the crew reported difficult and heavy seas on January 9 but were not heard from again.
He believes the craftsmanship and teak timber of the wreckage link it to Smackwater Jack.
Teak hatch stairs were found by Mr Hilliam in the same area in 1980 and the size, design and quality correspond to that of Smackwater Jack.
Mr Hilliam said the lack of any growth on the grating would suggest the boat had been covered in deep sand, probably south of Omamari.
Recent big seas may have exposed the wreck to the elements.
The Whiting family of Auckland, who were considered by the Waitemata yachting fraternity to be the best boatbuilders in the area, built the expensive yacht, co-owned by Murray Ross of Whangarei.
Skipper Paul Whiting, wife Alison, John Sugden and Scott Coombes were on board when it disappeared.
Mr Whiting's sister is former Auckland City councillor Penny Whiting.
More than a week after the official search for Smackwater Jack ended Mr Hilliam spotted a deflated liferaft with three bodies about 1km north of Round Hill, Ripiro Beach. The effort to recover the bodies was delayed by high seas and they were not seen again.
While finding the wreck might answer many questions, Mr Hilliam said, there were no immediate plans to search for the wreck.
- NORTHERN ADVOCATE
