[ScottUK]

Here's a link to the story.

Sail-World.com : Germans missing feared lost in New Zealand - search called off.

My friend use to own the boat missing. I use to own a newer one. They are tough little boats but the waters around NZ can be perilous.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

Terribly sad story.

 

[ScottUK]

more info

Missing yacht debris washes ashore - national | Stuff.co.nz

 

[harmonic]

I have kayaked around there when I was young and dumb very treacherous coastline,sad ending.Really feel for the familys.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

A squab that has since been identified as also belonging to the Munetra, was located at Pahia yesterday afternoon. in an area on the Southland coast beyond Colac Bay.

What is a squab?

Mark

 

[ScottUK]

a cushion

 

[JonEisberg]

Police are looking at Kinzler's lack of sailing experience as a possible reason for the disappearance.

'We know that he purchased the boat within the past 12 months but the information we've gathered to date suggests his previous sailing experience may have been limited,' he said.

Gosh, what a shocker... Hope no one on a sailing forum ever injected a cautionary note, attempting to dissuade him from pursuing his Dream...

30 years ago I spent some time tramping about on Stewart Island... A wild and wooly place, that region and those waters will definitely not reward inexperience... The weather down there can change in a heartbeat, which should be no surprise, given that the only cape deeper into the Southern Ocean than South West Cape, is the Horn itself...

What a sad affair, all the more so, because it might have been avoided with a bit more experience...

Here's a pretty compelling account of what was supposed to be an overnight trip, aboard a 46' steel yacht, in those waters:

Jordan Type Series Drogue Deployed In Survival Storm Conditions

 

[ScottUK]

I think it is also a cautionary tale for inexperienced people that volunteer to crew when they do not have the knowledge to assess the situation as appear to bethe case here.