Fruitless boat hunt stirs hoax suspicion

A mayday alert from a boat off Whangarei yesterday is being investigated as a hoax that cost an estimated $20,000 and endangered the lives of rescuers.

Ross Henderson, a spokesman for the Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ), said air and sea rescuers were sent into waters around the Hen and Chickens Islands in "atrocious" conditions.

While the $20,000 was an estimate, he added that Search and Rescue was Government-funded and the Coastguard was a voluntary service.

"If that [a hoax] does prove to be the case, we would be extremely disappointed."

The possibility of a hoax is now a matter for the police.

Thirty to 50-knot winds, causing 5m swells, were battering the Whangarei coastline when maritime radio operators got the call about 1am.

The wild weather died off throughout the day, but the MetService is predicting heavy rain for the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel over the weekend and Weatherwatch analyst Philip Duncan is warning of floods.

The mayday call was made by a New Zealand-sounding man who said the four on board the blue and white boat East Coaster were distressed as it was taking on water.

"We are having problems with our electrics and fuel. We are out by the Hen and Chickens. Do you copy?" he said.

When the call cut out, radio operators were none the wiser about the size of the boat, the owner, its precise location or any safety equipment it was carrying.

A Whangarei Coastguard vessel searched in darkness around the Hen and Chickens and had covered 60per cent of the search area by7.30am.

Rescuers stopped to eat and set off again shortly after with the Navy ship Pukaki.

They described conditions as "atrocious" and former Whangarei Coastguard president Conrad Gray said visibility was very poor.

"Where I am here I can't see across to the other side of the harbour. Very difficult search conditions," he said. "It's pea soup stuff."

The Northland Electricity rescue helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft from the Philips Search and Rescue Trust in Taupo were in the air by about 9am and covered about 280sq km between them.

Rescue Co-ordination Centre search and rescue co-ordinator Mike Roberts said rescuers scoured the area near the islands but saw no sign of flotsam, jetsam or oil spills.

"Observers in the aircraft reported seeing individual seabirds floating on the surface. If there was anyone in the water, wreckage ... they would almost certainly have seen it."

By 2pm - with no sign of the vessel - the search was suspended.

Coastguard and police staff followed up numerous inquiries from concerned callers, but all were deemed unrelated and discounted.

Mr Roberts said yesterday afternoon that unless rescue staff received more information about the boat or its location, there was not a lot more that could be done.

But he urged anyone with information about the East Coaster and where it might have gone to come forward.

"Please contact RCCNZ, Maritime Radio on Channel 16, or the local police," he said.

Whangarei boaties were equally nonplussed, none having heard of the East Coaster.

"We have a good database on boats, and people in the district have been running around and seeing if anyone knows whose the boat is, but no, nothing," said Whangarei marina assistant manager Sharon Petersson.

Meanwhile, heavy rain and strong winds are in store for the Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel, with 120mm to 140mm of rain predicted to fall last night and today.

The MetService has issued a marine gale warning - 30-knot winds over water, and gusts to 30 knots on land.