APATHY FROM U.S. OFFICIALS PUT AT RISK THE LIVES OF SEVEN PEOPLE
MISSING AT SEA ON FAMOUS AMERICAN YACHT NIÑA
Thursday, August 1st, 2013
INTRODUCTION:
BACKGROUND:
WHAT WE WANT
REASONING BEHIND OUR DEMANDS:
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sibel Tinar ‐‐ sibeltinar@gmail.com; (Skype: sibeltinar)
Shelley Rogers ‐‐ 713‐530‐9574; srogers014@comcast.net
Ralph Baird ‐‐ 713‐366‐6445; Ralph@Bairdusa.com (Skype: Ralph.baird)
Ricky Wright ‐‐ 337‐322‐6797; rickywlsu@gmail.com (Skype: ricky.wright337)
*** URGENT NIÑA PRESS CONFERENCE NOTICE ***
Thursday, August 1st 2013, at 3:00pm CST
at Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake
3000 Nasa Pkwy, Houston, Texas
Tel: 1‐281‐333‐9300
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/texas/hilton‐houston‐nasa‐clear‐lake‐
HOUNBHF/maps‐directions/index.htm
BACK TO PAGE 1
MISSING AT SEA ON FAMOUS AMERICAN YACHT NIÑA
Thursday, August 1st, 2013
INTRODUCTION:
We,
as
the
family
members
of
the
crew
on
board
the
Niña,
the
famous
American
schooner
that
has
gone
missing
in
the
Tasman
Sea
in
June,
are
organizing
a
press conference,
in
order
to
make
public
our
ordeal
and
struggles
with
receiving
any
help
from
the
U.S.
authorities.
It
will
be
held
today,
Thursday,
August
1st
2013,
at
3:00 pm
CST
(UTC‐5)
at
NASA
Hilton
at
Houston,
Texas.
We
are
shocked
and
saddened
to
be
faced
with
a
completely
uncooperative
behavior
in
this
very
urgent
matter
by
the
most
respected
institutions
of
this
country ,
and
we
want
to
appeal
to
all
authorities
and
the
American
public
for
a
fair
and
immediate
action.
In
the
absence
of
prompt
and
effective
action,
seven
lives
will
be
sacrificed
while
it
could
have
been
prevented;
and
this
would
make
the
Niña
case
the
worst
non‐commercial
maritime
disaster
in
history
with
regard
to
the
number
of
lives
lost...
BACKGROUND:
The
American
schooner
Niña,
with
its
crew
of
six
Americans
and
one
Briton,
was
reported
missing
in
the
Tasman
Sea
on
its
route
from
Opua
(New
Zealand)
to
Newcastle
(Australia).
Its
last
known
communication
with
land
was
on
June
4th,
which
indicated
stormy
conditions.
However,
with
the
recovery
of
a
non‐delivered
text
message
sent through
the
satellite
phone
afterwards,
it
is
revealed
that
they
had
survived
the
storm
of
the
previous
night,
but
sustained
severe
damage
to
their
storm
sails
and
were
proceeding
with
'bare
poles'
on
a
stated
course.
That
last
text
message
was
only
revealed
a
month
after
Niña's
last
communication,
due
to
strict
U.S.
privacy
laws,
and
the
critical
information
it
contains
has
basically
changed
the
whole
paradigm
of
what
might
have
happened,
and
how
to
best
direct
the
search
efforts.
Since
that
last
message
was
not
delivered
to
the
intended
recipient,
no
one
knew
for
weeks
that
something
was
wrong
with
the
Niña
RCCNZ Search Operations:
After
the
Niña
failed
to
arrive
in
Australia
in
mid‐June as
planned,
a
'communication s
search'
only
was
carried
out
by
the
RCCNZ
(Rescue
Coordination
Center
New
Zealand) .
A
full
search
and
rescue
operation
was
not
started
until
June
25th,
three
weeks
after
the
communications
breakdown,
yet
it
was
suspended
twelve
days
later
after
failing
to
find
anything.
No
evidence
of
the
vessel
and
crew,
its
life
raft,
wreckage
or
flotsam,
nor
any
other
evidence
that
would
indicate
sinking
was
encountered.
Sadly,
most
of
the
search
was
conducted
using
‘drift
modelling’
based
on
a
‘last
known
position’
given
by
an
Iridium
satellite
phone,
which
is
now
accepted
to
be
inaccurate
‐‐
hundreds
of
miles
away
from
the
last
known
position
given
by
text
by
one
of
the
crew
a renown Mathematics
professor
and
author
of
user
guides
to
computer
operating
systems,
who
was
an
experienced
yacht
owner
and
fanatical
about
navigation.
This
texted
position,
given
to
a
renowned
New
Zealand
meteorologist,
was
initially
discounted
by
New
Zealand
authorities
as
‘inaccurate’
and
only
considered
in
the
last
2
days
of
the
search.
When
search
was
officially
suspended
by
the
New
Zealand
authorities,
it
was
ruled,
without
any
evidence,
that
the
Niña
must
have
suffered
a
“catastrophic
event”
in
the
continuing
strong
storm,
and
sunk
immediately
without
being
able
to
give
a
distress
signal
or
abandon
ship.
After New Zealand Suspended the Search:
Upon
this
suspension,
the
five
families
that
represent
Niña's
crew
of
seven
individuals
have
partnered
up
with
Texas
EquuSearch
(TES),
a
non‐profit
volunteer
organization
that
specializes
in
finding
missing
persons
on
land
and
at
sea.
Since
their
operation
relies
on
donations,
the
families
and
friends
of
the
crew
members
have
contributed
what ever
they
could
through
donations.
TES's
professional
analysis
of
the
case
also
indicated
that
the
Niña
probably
had
an
electrical
failure,
lost
its
sails,
as
revealed
in
the
non‐delivered
text
message,
possibly
dismasted,
but
that
it
should
be
intact
and
floating
in
the
renowned
circular
currents
of
the
Tasman
Sea,
waiting
for
rescue.
An
initial
aerial
search
conducted
by
TES
to
eliminate
the
possibility
that
Niña
was
proceeding
slowly
to
her
original
destination
under
jury
rigged
sails,
failed
to
find
the
boat
or
her
crew.
For
any
further
searches
professional
float
modeling
was
required
in
order
to
scientifically
demonstrate
the
most
likely
areas
in
which
the
Niña
will
be
drifting.
U.S. Indifference and Failure to Cooperate:
Through out
the
search
efforts,
the
families
and
TES
have
been
trying
to
reach
out
to
the
U.S.
authorities,
as
six
of
the
seven
crew
members
are
American
citizens,
but
have
been
faced
with
an
unhelpful,
negative,
dismissive
attitude
each
time
they
approached
an
institution
whose
resources
or
expertise
would
significantly
assist
the
search
efforts.
Not
only
the
requests
that
involve
funding
or
use
of
time
and
other
resources,
but
also
TES's
request
to
use
drift
modeling
software,
which
is
developed
in
the
U.S.
and
available
to
the
U.S.
Coast
Guard,
was
turned
down
with
the
explanation
that
New
Zealand
would
not
allow
it.
At
various
times
the
state
authorities,
representatives,
as
well
as
maritime
search
and
rescue
services
have
refused
to
provide
rationale,
and
instead
have
chosen
to
not
answer
the
questions
they
were
asked,
and
at
times,
not
even
return
communications
on
such
an
important
issue
that
involves
the
lives
of
seven
individuals.
WHAT WE WANT
‐
Cooperation
from
the
U.S.
Government,
Coast
Guard
and
Military,
as
well
as
other
state
or
national
authorities
that
have
the
resources
to
aid
in
the
search
efforts.
Urgently,
because
seven
lives
with
little
resources
on
the
cold
seas
are
very
fragile.
‐
Public
attention
and
support.
Anyone
could
have
been
in
our
situation,
and
in
the future
more
citizens
will
be
facing
the
same
indifference
and
uncooperative
attitude
unless
we
all
raise
our
voices
and
do
something
now.
REASONING BEHIND OUR DEMANDS:
While
there
is
absolutely
no
evidence
that
the
Niña
has
faced
a
'catastrophic
event'
and
sank,
this
has
been
accepted
as
the
case
by
all
U.S.
authorities
without
any
further
inquiry
or
research.
Due
to
the
scarcity
of
actual
facts
and
data,
it
is
impossible
to
calculate
the
odds
of
each
possible
scenario;
however,
an
evidence‐free
sudden
sinking
is
just
one
of
the
many
possible
scenarios,
most
of
which
involve
survivors.
The default approach in the scarcity of known facts should not be assuming the worst case scenario and causing a self fulfilling prophecy.
USA
is
known
world wide
for
the
high
value
it
assigns
to
human
lives
and
the
lengths
it
goes
to
protect
its
citizens.
So,
it
is
a
great
disappointment
to
hear
that
our
very
own
congressmen,
senators,
and
revered
mission
services
such
as
the
U.S.
Coast
Guard
is
endangering
seven
lives
by
refusing
to
cooperate
with
the
search
and
rescue
teams.
If
authorities
such
as
the
USCG
that
are
in
charge
of
protecting
and
saving
human
lives
at
sea
do
not
cooperate
with
the
search
teams
when
seven
lives
are
at
risk,
then
how
are
we
supposed
to
trust
them
to
save
us
if/when
we
are
the
ones
in
need
of
help?
MORE RESOURCES ON THIS STORY:
The
Face book
page
Bringing
Home
the
Niña
and
her
Crew,
co‐administered
by
close
friends
and
some
family
members
of
several
crew
members
is directed
to
continuing
the
search
efforts,
as
well
as
in forming
and
engaging
friends,
relatives,
and
anyone
following
the
mysterious
case
of
the
Niña:
Sailing
Savoir
Faire,
a
blog
on
the
Niña
case
regularly
updated
by
Tim
Paynter,
an
activist
for
the
Niña
case,
with
verified
and
reliable
information:
The
S/V
Niña
Search
Updates
page
by
TES
that
details
the
search
efforts,
along
with
the
roadblocks
hit
on
the
way
and
how
they
can
be
overcome:
http://www.7‐1‐.com/TES/NINA/UPDATES
WHO WE ARE:
Cherie
Martinez
‐‐
Twin
sister
of
Niña's
owner
and
skipper
58‐year‐old
David
Dyche
III
from
Florida.
Also
representing
two
more
crew
members,
David's
wife
Rosemary
(60)
Dyche
and
their
son
David
Dyche
IV
(17).
Little
David
is
now
18.
Robin
and
Ricky
Wright
‐‐
Parents
of
19‐year‐old
Danielle
Wright
from
Louisiana
Lazslo
Nemeth
and
Libby
Pratt
‐‐
Son
and
niece
of
73‐year‐old
Evi
Nemeth
from
Colorado
Amy
and
Duane
Jackson
‐‐
Parents
of
27‐year‐old
Kyle
Jackson
from
Nebraska Sue
and
Ian
Wootton
‐‐
Parents
of
35‐year‐old
Matthew
Wootton
from
London,
United
Kingdom
Ralph
Baird
‐‐
Senior
Advisor
for
Texas
Equusearch
(TES),
the
non‐profit,
volunteer
search
and
rescue
organization
that
specializes
in
finding
missing
persons
at
sea
or
on
land
families.
TES
has
been
continuing
the
search
efforts
after
the
official
search
operation
was
suspended
by
New
Zealand.
Sibel Tinar ‐‐ sibeltinar@gmail.com; (Skype: sibeltinar)
Shelley Rogers ‐‐ 713‐530‐9574; srogers014@comcast.net
Ralph Baird ‐‐ 713‐366‐6445; Ralph@Bairdusa.com (Skype: Ralph.baird)
Ricky Wright ‐‐ 337‐322‐6797; rickywlsu@gmail.com (Skype: ricky.wright337)
*** URGENT NIÑA PRESS CONFERENCE NOTICE ***
Families of the seven (7) lives at stake and EquuSearch will host an eye-opening press conference at 3:00 PM local time CDT (GMT-5) at the NASA HILTON, Houston, TX on Thursday, August 1st 2013.
The event will show the need to continue the search that was suspended; all five families will be there. Failure of the U.S. Government will be explained in detail.
Postponed
WHEN AND WHERE?
Thursday, August 1st 2013, at 3:00pm CST
at Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake
3000 Nasa Pkwy, Houston, Texas
Tel: 1‐281‐333‐9300
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/texas/hilton‐houston‐nasa‐clear‐lake‐
HOUNBHF/maps‐directions/index.htm
BACK TO PAGE 1
Any way you look at the US response the situation in NZ is that its an American flagged vessel carrying mainly American citizens and NZ is more interested in migration interdiction and drug interdiction than in SAR missions for foreigners. Yes, it appears an incorrect Last Known Position was used. Yes, it was improperly assumed that a severe event of some nature took place during the storm. The only updated data available does is provide indications of weakening electronic devices used in the storm filled voyage: SPOT beacon and Iridium satphone. These are handheld and subject to loss of charge as well difficulties during storm spray usage.Loss of the electronic devices does not mean the ship foundered, however failure of EPIRB activation does indicate inability to activate it, although it too can be lost overboard or can be stubbornly ignored. Any modeling would be of different scenarios taking place at different times. It may not be quite so callous a situation in Australia but the Aussies are more interested in intercepting migrants and drug runners than anything else.
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