Plea for help on cruising yacht's hull
by NZPA, staff reporter on 27 Feb 2007
Police found hull remains from the 12.6-metre trimaran washed up on the remote Uonuku Island. SW
A chilling cry for help was left on the hull of the wrecked New Zealand cruising trimaran Manoah, found early this month on a small Tongan island.
'Help 2 p.o.b' was written in white paint on the blue hull, indicating two people had been on board, Tonga's acting police commander said.
Taiela Faletau said police suspected the yacht had capsized and that its two occupants were at first still alive, inside the hull.
'We don't actually have any clue as to what happened after that.'
The Manoah disappeared with its two crew, Nelson woman Verona Mary Hunt and her Australian partner Garry Cull, after leaving New Zealand for Rarotonga in June 2005.
A sea search of 370,000 square kilometres by an air force Orion failed to find the yacht.
New Zealnd's Nelson Coroners Court was told last week that the yacht lacked a liferaft or apparent 'man overboard' equipment and would have sailed into strong winds and high seas soon after leaving New Zealand.
A close friend of Ms Hunt, Claire Hodgson of Nelson, said she was 'relieved that the boat had been found'. It would allow family and friends of Ms Hunt and Mr Cull to have some sense of closure and help search and rescue learn from the tragedy.
Rescue Coordination Centre search and rescue officer John Ashby said Tongan police found no sign of the couple. 'We are no further ahead in terms of what happened.'
The pair's families were still distraught about their disappearance, despite the wreckage discovery.
The tragedy underlined the importance of yachts having good radio capabilities and crews following regular radio contact schedules.
The location of the wreckage was west of the Manoah's probable course and the barnacle-encrusted hull would have drifted 'some distance' before being beached, Mr Ashby said.
Though there was still no clear idea of what had happened to Ms Hunt and Mr Cull, stormy conditions would have been a factor.
'We just felt that the storm that came through was the most likely scenario in terms of what happened to the Manoah'.
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/31552