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