CLICK HERE FOR NINA SEARCH FUND
June 20th, 2013
"S/V Nina and Crew update: We had a good search flight yesterday, but no find of our loved ones. Fortunately, the airplane is available again, when it was not before. Thank you to the corporateair company for making this happen, along with every one's PRAYERS! We will search the Middleton Reef area on the flight tonight, as well as finish the search in the Newcastle area, when the military clears us to fly it. Keep your PRAYERS and DONATIONS coming!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU"
From Ricky Wright.....
Posted by Cherie on Cruiser's Forum on July 18th, 2013
The third day of the renewed search for the lost yacht, Nina, is underway. The 85 year old schooner disappeared on June 4th, 2012 after sailing into heavy weather. So far, there has been no sighting of the missing yacht which had become a symbol of American innovation for nearly a century.
Rescue Coordination Center New Zealand (RCC-NZ) suspended the search on July 5th, 2013, after an intensive 12 day effort. The center speculated the yacht sank suddenly preventing any of the crew members from setting off the EPIRB or using the satellite phone to call for help.
The father of 19 year old crew member Danielle Wright has refused to give up on the search so easily. Wright contacted Texas Equusearch (TES) which uses high tech tactics to search for missing people. TES has a long history of finding people law enforcement is unable to locate.
Both Ralph Baird and Ricky Wright are confident the Nina is still floating in the Tasman Sea. They put the odds at 70 to 80%. The secret is putting a rescue flight over the ship or a raft in a massive expanse of territory. The area to be searched is the size of the Gulf of Mexico.
Baird said in a message to Sailing Saviour Faire on Thursday, July 17, 2013:
"Best to you and we need help to continue the search. We need sponsors and donors. A second search area is now being flown."
Shelly Rogers who is helping coordinate the search echoed Ralph Baird's words:
"Touch base with you in the morning I am mobile, in the mean time raise awareness and raise money is needed. Thanks for your help."
TES and the families have retained Corporate Air, based in Canberra, Australia, to perform an areal search near the planned destination of the Nina cruise. RCC-NZ had not searched that far across the Tasman Sea. The organization is using a Cessna Conquest, a high performance twin engine aircraft that costs significantly less to operate than a jet, but with similar performance.
TES was excited about the possibility of working with RCC-NZ. The Texas based organization proposed paying for the fuel for RCC-NZ flights, thus off-setting the cost to New Zealand for the search. Baird has connections in the oil industry and could help reduce costs through an oil exchange. The potential benefits to New Zealand of teaming up in a public/private partnership are enormous.
The Texas based organization normally works hand and hand with the U.S. Coast Guard and law enforcement. They currently work in 14 states with over 600 volunteers. If TES had found two or three missing people it would be easy to chalk their successes up to luck. However, the TES web site details hundreds of people TES has been able to return to their worried families alive.
At this point, the biggest risk to the TES rescue effort is a lack of funds. The cost of searching has run about $20,000 per day. The families appeal for interested parties to donate to the search. Baird promises the funds won't be wasted. More, he says good things will come from the effort.
"We are teaching young people the value of technology and the importance of studying math and science. We help people give back to their communities. For those who can't join one of our searches, the easiest way to give is through a donation."
"Imagine what we could do if 100,000 people donated only $25.00" Baird said.
Funds can be mailed to:
Office: (281) 309-9500
Fax: (281) 534-6719
Toll Free: (877) 270-9500
Or use PayPal or Credit Card: http://texasequusearch.org/2013/07/tes-sv-nina-search/
Or, mail checks directly to:
c/o Amegy Bank
215 FM 517 Road West
Attention: Ms. Alicia White
(281) 337-9390
An online donation can be made HERE.
Rooting for the crew
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