Corrections Coming, Schooner Nina

Reporting on the missing Niña story made sense since I had been reporting on another missing yacht, the Lady Domina.  Little did I know, my casual reporting would turn into a major blog about the search for the Niña.  It has been a cherished experience, working with family members and a dedicated team of volunteers at Texas Equusearch.  As it turns out, there are plenty of errors in my postings which I will repair over the course of time.  

Fortunately, as I got closer to the source, I was able to avoid many errors, like the false report the Niña was not in good shape.  The truth is, the Dyche family made the Niña part of their lives, spending countless hours and their fortune renovating the historic schooner.  The boat was rated as being "sound" in 2012 by professionals who had been aboard her.  This is a major departure from the reports by professional journalists who repeated speculation by people who had never been aboard the Niña and lacked the qualifications to determine her condition if they had been aboard her.

One big error on my part was the inclusion of this photo in the early reports:

I probably got the photo from one of the New Zealand papers.  My error.  This is not the tender that was aboard the Niña.  Instead, it is a tender for the boat Ninita.  The tender that is aboard the Niña has pointed or "canoe" ends.  You can see part of the tender in this photograph:

The top of the tender on Nina is covered, but clearly,
the tender has a canoe or pointed end.

If the Niña did go down, she left evidence.  Kind people are watching for things that are floating or which have washed up on various beaches.  We know because people have been in contact with the families.  So far, nothing that has been found appears to have any association with Niña.  Still, we don't want lingering misconceptions, so we have included the picture of the tender here.

Some people have asked, 'are they still searching for the Niña this late?'  The answer is a resounding YES!  The families are still searching.  They are working on raising more funds and talking about how best to search remote places.  The Tasman Sea and Pacific are odd places which swallow boats up and spin them in the currents for years.  Just recently, we witnessed the survival of Jose Salvador Alvarenga who had been at sea for 13 to 14 months with no provisions.

The Ninita, sloop rigged

Another false report, again which I checked carefully before going to press, is that Texas Equusearch (TES) has a cross to bear in this search.  We know some people think the non-profit Texas based search organization is making something on the search because we get those veiled emails questioning motives.  For those who are in doubt, the record should be square.  TES volunteers take nothing.  Ralph Baird, Larry Slack and other volunteers have given relentless hours of their valuable time, at cost to family and fortune, to pass the legacy of good tidings in helping locate the missing Niña 7.  They have been troopers in doing what every one of us should be willing to do when a loved one goes missing, which is to pull out all the stops and go full bore, be of service to others.  Yes, people are that dedicated to giving themselves to their community.

If you are just coming to the search for the historic boat and want to read more, you can start here.  The families have an update page which a dedicated volunteer has helped put together for the families.  You can check it out here.

There is a lot of the Niña story which I have not been able to tell.  My silence falls well within the ethics required of a journalist.  One day, there will be "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say.  One part of the story which remains unwritten, the rescue of the crew.  While I cannot say much, I can say this:  I believe in my heart there is a strong chance this crew is floating in the Tasman Sea or washed up in a remote location.  The families ask all people in the North Tasman Sea to keep a sharp lookout, and for the rest of us to keep the crew in their blessings.  

Yes And! Creating the Future, Schooner Nina

Yes And web site

When I got involved in the Nina search I thought maybe I could help.  I do mostly media things and some political things.  How could I know, the shoe would nicely fit on the other foot?

The Nina is a 1928 American treasure with seven people aboard.  They are C.U. Professor Evi Nemeth, Kyle Jackson, Danielle Wright, Matthew Wootton, and the boat's owners, David Dyche, Rosemary Dyche and David Dyche IV.  This wonderful piece of American naval history along with her 7 crew went missing on June 4th, 2013.  Nothing has been seen of the Nina or crew since then.

Rob, a friend of Kyle Jackson's, posted in Kyle's sisters, Megan Jackson's blog page:

YES AND is a mantra for embracing the now and creating the future; for moving deeper into life; for being an active participant; for flowing with what the universe has to show you and reaching out to join it.

YES can be enthusiasm: YES! I want this! I love this! This is perfect.

YES can be acceptance: yes. This is happening. This is now. This is part of everything. This is.

AND can be the next step.  The moving forward.

AND can be adding on, expanding. More. Deeper.

It’s how we move through the world, step by step, first with a YES, and then following it up with AND. Again and again, until we get to where we are, and find ourselves saying again, YES AND.

How could I know, YES!  The universe has a lot to show me, if I am willing, and a lot for me to learn. 

Getting involved in the search for 7 precious lives brought me into contact with many more precious lives.  It has been a phenomenal learning and growing experience for me.  Honestly, when people who are desperately worried about their loved ones allow perfect strangers to participate at this level, you feel very honored they have placed so much confidence in you, and the fear of somehow letting them down is always there.  Some of the people I have never met in person, but it makes little difference.  I still feel like I have new brothers and sisters in my family.  For those I have met in person, I can say, everything in Texas really is bigger, even the hearts of the ones who were only there for a short time.

If you have the chance to volunteer for a search, expect the road to be a little bumpy at times.  You will likely be dealing with many family members at a very difficult time for them, who are dealing with all of the volunteers who wish the best but sometimes don't know what is the best, who are dealing with the officials who mean the best, but sometimes don't know what is the best, along with yourself, who wants the best but does not always know what is the best.  Participating in a search is, in part, a search for our personal, best.  For those who are looking for the YES in the universe, I promise you, your collective efforts will provide some of the most moving memories you will have.  Of course, the sweetest time will come with the AND.

AND?

I can see as plain as day when the Nina floats into the gaze of a dazing fisherman, surprised to see 7 lives prancing on deck, the fisherman wiping his eyes with his hands just to be sure the AND is real.  A Salvadorean's journey across the Pacific Ocean, Jose Salvador Alvarenga, has proven 14 months at sea with no provisions is possible.  Nothing has been seen or heard from the missing crew to suggest they are not out there now.  Why shouldn't I believe?  

Yes! And...

UPDATES ABOUT THE NINA SEARCH

"Biggest Search In Mexican History" Failed To Locate El Salvadoran Castaway

Castaway Contemplated Suicide 

After Losing Ship Mate

Stern of Boat - Telegraph Photo

Maybe it wasn't the biggest search in the history of Mexico.  It lasted two weeks, longer than the search New Zealand said it did for the Schooner Nina, lost in the Tasman Sea on June 4th, 2013.  Authorities say the Nina search was the biggest search done in the history of their area of responsibility.  

Despite best efforts by the Mexican civil defense force, the launch carrying Jose Salvador Alvarenga and youth  Ezequiel Cordoba could not be found, says Jose Manuel Aragon, spokesman for the Chiapas state civil defense office.  They didn't find the Nina, either.

The authorities have lots of questions of the unfortunate sailor who found himself lost at sea as early as November of 2012.  

"It was probably something that was planned beforehand, something we had no knowledge of," Manuel-Aragon said. "Our only duty was to carry out search and rescue operations." (and not investigate other activities).

Cooler Used For Cover -Telegraph Photo

According to Manuel-Aragon, the two shark fishermen set out from their tiny village in Chiapas State on the West coast of Mexico despite warnings of high winds and rain.

"You can imagine a lot of things, but that is something he should explain," said Vilermino "Willie" Rodriguez.  Rodriguez is the person who bought the shark meat caught by the castaway at $1.90 a pound.

"There are things that don't match up. I knew him, but I have a lot of doubts," Rodriguez noted.

Even the U.S. Ambassador  to the Marshall Islands, Tom Armbruster, weighed in after speaking to castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga.

"It's hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea." 

The AP writers who have been following the story noted, "Central America is a major transshipment route for U.S.-bound drugs, but there is no evidence traffickers would use such a small boat to try to make such a long journey."

GEE Bing, the acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Marshall Islands where Alvarenga came to shore, publically expressed doubt about Alvarenga's story.  At last, he arranged to move the castaway from the hospital to a hotel.  Nearly immediately, hotel staff began to protect Alvarenga from the hordes of media and well wishers who were preventing the castaway from getting any rest.  While authorities in multiple countries have doubts about Alvarenga's story, at least they are treating one of the longest known survivors at sea with some respect.

That respect was absent for John Glennie and his three crew mates who survived 119 days adrift in the capsized catamaran, the Rose Noelle South of the Marshall Islands.  After the four sailors rescued themselves by drifting to a New Zealand island, the authorities investigated Glennie and his mates, claiming there might be a drug connection.  Some speculated, the four sailors had completed a drug run and were laying low until they could concoct a good story.  They were in too good a shape to have been out in the ocean for such a long time, some said.  Like Alvarenga, they held a Eulogy for Captain Glennie. 

Shrimp Of The Sea Telegraph Photo

They had searched high and low for the Rose Noelle and no one had spotted it.  Surely something was wrong.  They even dove the wreck site where the Rose Noelle broke up as she came to land.  Soon it would be time to eat crow.  

The deciding factor came when divers located deeply personal things that a sailor who scuttles his own boat to cover his tracks would never leave behind.  The authorities were forced to the conclusion the story of the Rose Noelle was true.

George Lanwi, Commissioner of the Marshall Islands police force, said to a telegraph reporter, "I don't know whether he is telling us the truth until we get the facts from his fingerprints and everything,  We are trying to verify what he said as far as where he is from, and who he was involved with back in El Salvador. We are trying to prove all that he has been telling people. Why didn't they report him missing to authorities in Mexico?"

Despite using alias names, and not being clear about the day or even month Alvarenga set sail, relatives are coming forward to identify the wayward mariner.  It is clear Alvarenga is from Garita Palmera, El Salvador, a country rocked by death squads in a bitter civil war.  He was known as Cirilo in El Salvador, a nicer name than he was given by his Mexican employers, La Chancha, the dirty one.  

About 15 years ago, Alvarenga traveled to Mexico and worked as a shark fisherman.  His daughter, Fatima, has no memory of him, since Alvarenga left El Salvador when she was only 1 year old.  Fatima was excited to hear her father is alive.

“I didn’t know the hour, nor the day, nor the date,” Alvarenga said to a Telegraph reporter. “I only knew the sun and the night… I never saw land. Pure ocean, pure ocean. It was very placid – only two days with big waves.”

After his shipmate died, Alvarenga contemplated taking his own life.

“For four days I wanted to kill myself. But I couldn’t feel the desire – I didn’t want to feel the pain. I couldn’t do it.”

Alvarenga said he was never bored and rarely frightened.  


“I had my mind on God,” he said. “If I was going to die, I would be with God. So I wasn’t scared... I imagine this is an incredible story for people.”

Alvarenga used a large cooler for shelter.  He had just killed a bird when he looked up and saw trees.

"Oh God!" he said.

After swimming to shore Alvarenga was unable to walk.  He was wearing only his underwear which was tattered.  Two girls who spotted him were so shocked they began screaming.

Alvarenga told his mother by telephone he was not sure where he was.  After drinking turtle blood and his own urine for hydration and battling the elements for 14 months, facing the might of the Pacific Ocean and watching his shipmate perish, should more be expected?

Meanwhile, the families of the crew of the Nina take heart in the story.  They have maintained for a long time the Nina may still be afloat.  Skeptics including some rescue officials claim even if the Nina is afloat there would be no survivors.  That is what they said about Jose Salvador Alvarenga, too.

Information for this article was obtained from the Telegraph, the Grand Island Independent and AP news reports.

Skeptical Authorities Hammer Castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga

A grateful Salvador Alvarenga explains how a shark fisherman ends up on national news.  Photo from Telegraph video.

Video Courtesy The Telegraph

Castaway and long term ocean survivor, Jose Salvador Alvarenga, tells a great survival story or spins a great yarn.  Authorites remain skeptical about Alvarenga's claims of  floating 13 months in a small boat across the Pacific.  They don't see how a person could survive for that long of a time adrift.  The MSN writer who relates Alvarenga's tale says, "If true, his ordeal would rank among the greatest tales ever of survival at sea."

Alvarenga scooped up small fish and
 turtles to survive months at sea.

Gee Bing, the acting secretary of foreign affairs for the Marshall Islands, remains unbelieving.

"It does sound like an incredible story, and I'm not sure if I believe his story," Bing said. "When we saw him, he was not really thin compared to other survivors in the past."

Bing, no doubt, has never seen a starvation victim.  They are often bloated due to protein deficiency.  As the body dines on itself, limbs swell along with other features.  That causes incredible joint pain.  The liver often becomes fatty which contributes to the appearance of bloating.  In reality, the condition eventually leads to death.

Alvarenga and a youth who Alvarenga calls Ezekiel, went to sea from the Mexican town of Tonala in Southern Chiapas, Mexico.  The shark fisherman had been living in Mexico for over 15 years, according to reports.  Soon after setting out, a storm blew them off course.  

San Francisco De Tonala, Mexico

Unfortunately, according to Alvarenga, his youthful companion died after the two had been at sea for about a month.  Some people react to being trapped in hopeless conditions better than others.  On December 21st, 2012, or whenever they set out, life would change forever for both of the men.  Alvarenga, a native of El Salvador, was making $1.90 a pound hunting sharks and selling the meat to a Mexican named "Willie" when the adventure began.

Villermino Rodriguez Solis, whose son is called Willie, and who buys shark meat, said the heavy-set Salvador native and a youth set out on November 18th, 2012.  If true, that puts Alvarenga at sea for over 14 months with a trip across of the Pacific of over 6,500 miles.  Solis said fishermen searched for the pair for four days.  

Solis is based in Costa Azul, a fishing town near Tonala.  Solis said no one really knows who Alvarenga is.  They called him "La Chancha", translated as "the dirty person" in Mexican slang.  He showed up about 15 years ago looking for work.  It was clear he knew what he was doing when hunting shark.

Jaime Esaqui, an immigrant from Mexico, says the story makes perfect sense.  Esaqui says migrants, who are often amongst the poorest people in Mexico, often lack even a rudimentary education.  They are not adept at calendars, dates and details about where their relatives live.  Hence, Alvarenga's inability to pinpoint where his relatives live in the U.S. may sound deceptive to a person whose life is in perfect order.

"They deal with people on a first name basis and often don't know details about last names or even be accurate about dates.  It has nothing to do with their intellect.  Rather, it speaks to the limited opportunities they have enjoyed during their lives."

Having survived at sea for an incredible amount of time, Alvarenga will likely be deported somewhere.  Mexico was mentioned as one possible destination, El Salvador was mentioned as a second likely candidate.

Alvarenga appears to be in good health, but complains of joint pain and walks with a limp.

Meanwhile, relatives of the 7 crew members aboard the Nina, a 1928 schooner that went missing in the Tasman Sea South of the Marshall Islands in June of 2013, say authorities are skeptical about the survivability of the crew on the Nina.  Some family members point to Alvarenga, who floated unseen for 6,500 miles, and who survived for over 12 months on a small boat, as evidence not only that the Nina is afloat, but there are likely survivors.  Authorities suspended the search for the Nina on July 5th, 2013 and have been unwilling to lend much support to the families who have launched their own search.

Reports from the Associated Press were relied upon in writing this article.