Friends 'shattered' to find sailor not on ghost ship

The Tafadzwa was found by the crew of an Air Force Orion on a training flight but there was no sign of owner Paul Janse van Rensburg. Photo / NZ Defence Force

Friends of missing yachtie Paul Janse van Rensburg are "shattered" that a search of his yacht this morning failed to find any sign of him.

Rescuers boarded the missing boatie's yacht this morning to find his life raft, and dog - still alive - but no missing sailor.

Mr Janse van Rensburg's 11m yacht Tafadzwa was found adrift after 16 days, near the Chatham Islands with its damaged sails still up. Two men from a fishing vessel boarded the yacht at 8am this morning.

Friend reacts to latest news

Friend Warwick Gowland told NZPA Mr Janse van Rensburg's friends were "pretty shattered" that he was not on board.

They were still holding out hope Mr Janse van Rensburg would be found, though.

"It's really hard to say (what their next steps would be) right at this minute but we have to look at all options and look at them seriously."

Mr Gowland said they may look at land masses in the area in case Mr Janse van Rensburg had made it to one of those.

"There's a lot of questions to be asked and answered," he said.

Mr Janse van Rensburg's dog found alive

Mr Janse van Rensburg's dog Juanita, found on board the yacht, had been fed and watered, Mr Gowland said.

She was being looked after by the crew of the fishing vessel.

Rescue Co-ordination Centre search and rescue mission co-ordinator Geoff Lunt said the men who boarded the yacht this morning had not found the missing man on board.

"Unfortunately it seems Paul has fallen overboard. It appears his life raft, dinghy, emergency beacon and kayak were all still on board the yacht."

Mr Lunt said the fishing vessel was now preparing to tow the yacht to the Chatham Islands.

"We're naturally very disappointed not to have found Paul safe on board the yacht. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Unfortunately there is nothing further RCCNZ can do at this stage."

Yesterday's discovery of the boat

Yesterday, Mr Lunt said the fishing boat's skipper had used a loudhailer to try to attract the attention of anyone on board but received no response. The fishing vessels crew had been unable to board due to rough seas.

Friends and family of Mr Janse van Rensburg said they were desperately hoping he was alive.

"It's been a fantastic step. We're absolutely elated," said Mr Gowland. "But it's a very hard position to be in emotionally."

Mr Janse van Rensburg set sail on March 12 to begin a new life in Gisborne with his partner, Kristin.

The 40-year-old engineer and experienced sailor's last contact was a cellphone call to Kristin on March 12.

A search started on March 16, the day after he was due in Gisborne.

An extensive aerial search found no trace of the sailor or his yacht and the search was suspended on March 18.

But yesterday, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre said the crew of an Air Force Orion on a training flight saw the Tafadzwa at 1.45pm, drifting 110km west of the Chatham Islands - hundreds of kilometres off its course.

They could not see if Mr Janse van Rensburg was on board.

The fishing boat was diverted to the scene and remained alongside Tafadzwa last night.

Mr Lunt said the Orion crew reported that the Tafadzwa's main sail and jib were up, although they were extensively damaged.

The commanding officer of Five Squadron, Wing Commander Nick Olney, was one of about 17 on the Orion surveillance training run when the yacht appeared on their radar.

"It's unusual to find yachts in that part of the world," he said.

"There's not a lot of yacht traffic down there so interests were raised right at the very start."

As the crew got closer they could see the "badly kitted" sails, he said.

"We couldn't see into the yacht ... but we could see all over it and there were no signs of activity.

"Hopefully Paul's on board and he's just downstairs a bit crook or something," Wing Commander Olney said.

Mr Janse van Rensburg's family and friends had been planning to pay for their own search, saying he could have sailed far further than the 800km offshore covered by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre's search, involving an Orion and three other planes.

They believe the official search was stopped too early.

They thought it possible Mr Janse van Rensburg had abandoned his yacht for a kayak or liferaft, which would not have been picked up by radar.

The discovery of the yacht, with its sails up, is similar to that of a catamaran off Australia's Great Barrier Reef in April 2007.

None of the three crew was on board - but its ripped sails were up, food was laid out on the table and a computer was operating.

A coroner suggested one crewman fell overboard and the other two came to grief trying to rescue him.

- with NZPA