Big Mistakes Cost Bigly

Digital Globe Image
Found On Tomnod

In a perfect world everything goes perfectly.  In the ocean, when one thing does not go well, everything goes wrongly, fast.  There are a lot of things that went wrong for the crew of the Nina.  When the crew comes back, yes their return is optimistic, but possible, we will hear about all of the things that went wrong on the Nina end. 

As I sit writing this, the families are waiting on a government sanctioned report to tell us what went right or wrong in the search.   It is common sense to say something went wrong because nothing, not a single plank, life vest, raft, sail, or anything has been found of the Nina.

Sure, the Tasman Sea is vast.  She swallows boats and sailors like a voracious tiger.  But she nearly always leaves a few clues.  

While the Tasman Sea turned into the Milky Way of search patterns, the faith and hope of the families remains 10 times greater.  That is 10 times greater than most people can imagine, but my bet is with the families. 

 Sooner or later the truth of the fate of the Nina will come forth.   Some of the family members hope part of that truth will be through the voice of an independent reviewer who may shed light on why it took 21 days to start a search for a yacht that went through near typhoon sized wind and waves, that communicated several times every single day since her departure on May 29th, 2013, and which fell silent on June 4th, 2013.

Whether or not the Nina is found, the results of this report may make a difference.  They will certainly make a difference for the families who wait for word and survive on pure faith.  The results could also make a huge difference for future sailors who depend upon a search and rescue system that, in a perfect world, is always seeking better ways to save sailors, hence invites honest and hard hitting reviews.  

Until then, some family members ask the public to keep a constant watch for a boat lying low in the water and wrecks on remote reefs and islands.  

Seven Facts About Schooner Nina Few People Know

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the Nina search.  For anyone new to the blog, 7 sailors, Matthew Wootton, Danielle Wright, Professor Evi Nemeth, Kyle Jackson and the Dyche family, David, Rosemary and David Jr. set sail across the Tasman Sea.  They encountered a terrific storm and have not been heard from since.  That was on June 4th, 2013, so it has been awhile.  So why are people still looking, and what can you do to help?

Ricky and Robin Wright, news.com.au photo

FACT NOT FICTION #1  The search was started late.  By the time the authorities got around to actually launching an aircraft to look for Nina, the potential search area had grown to a size slightly smaller than the Milky Way!

FACT NOT FICTION #2  Despite claims the search was "the largest search in the history of New Zealand", low probability areas were not searched at all and a few high probability areas were also not searched.

FACT NOT FICTION #3 Landlubbers and even most sailors can't envision how a crew could survive 7 months on a sailboat without provisions.  Experienced sailors like John Glennie who have actually been in the area say long term survival is possible.  Water is obtained from the frequent rain storms in the Tasman Sea.  The boat becomes a floating reef attracting a large variety of fish.

FACT NOT FICTION #4  If the Nina were really afloat, they would have jury rigged sails and rescued themselves.  Actually, the last text message indicates the sails had blown out.  Fuel for the newly installed engine was in limited supply.  To be sure, Captain Dyche and crew are doing all they can to save themselves, but if the weather was bad enough to blow out professionally made sails, and dis-mast the Nina, it has been bad enough to shred a jury rigged sail and mast system.  They don't have many sail lofts in the middle of the Tasman, eventually even the most ingenious crew will run out of material for masts, rigging and jury built sails.

FACT NOT FICTION #5  If the Nina survived the storms she was in, surely she would have floated to shore by now.  Maybe true, though some boats including an oyster barge last year have taken a year to float through the reverse circulating currents of the Tasman Sea.  If the Nina has floated to land, the question, what land?  There are thousands of small islands and reefs off the Australian coast.  The families ask ALL SAILORS, PILOTS, FISHERMEN AND CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS AND CREW to please be on the lookout for the Nina not only in the ocean, but while passing remote landfalls.

FACT NOT FICTION #6  The remnants of the Nina were found off of Fraser Island, Australia.  A piece of the transom was seen with the letters "INA".  No one really knows if the remnants of the Nina were seen off of Fraser Island because the person who spotted the board with the letters "INA" didn't fish it out of the water.  Robin and Ricky Wright, parents of 19 year old crew member Danielle Wright, did a very thorough search of the area and found lots of flotsam, none of it appearing as the Nina.  IF you spot anything that appears to be the remnant of a boat, please fish it out of where ever you found it.  If you need assistance, the Australian Coast Guard or the New Zealand Coast Guard should be called, depending upon where you are.  



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The letters "INA" fit nicely into the word "Marina".  There are several marinas in the area.  The family expresses their deepest thanks to the person who provided the tip, and ask each of us to help solve the mystery of the Nina.  If you are not near the Tasman Sea, you can help by reminding people the search is still in progress; making a donation to help with the huge cost of search flights; if you are blessed with two hands, putting them together and asking for a higher power to reveal where the Nina is might prove to be the miracle that everyone is waiting for.

FACT NOT FICTION #7  While the families wish they had more support from the various RCC agencies, including a radio broadcast asking mariners to be watchful for a low lying craft in the water or evidence of a landing on remote islands, as well as support from the U.S. State Department and the NGA in satellite searches and rescue exercises while naval ships are in the area, the families remain extremely grateful for the efforts made by the various agencies. 

 Because the families have been hard at the search since the official search was suspended on July 5th, 2013, the families especially, Ricky and Robin Wright and Ian and Sue Wootton,  are in the best position to know what tactics would be most helpful in determining the location of the missing schooner, Nina.  The Texas Equusearch Lead Search coordinator Larry Slack,  Exeutive Search Advisor, Ralph Baird and their team also have a keen sense for the next best steps in finding the Nina.  However, neither the search team nor the families would ever want their requests for help to be misunderstood as a lack of gratitude for the efforts that have been made.  In analyzing the search efforts to date, their sole purpose is to find the Nina by identifying missing pieces in the puzzle, which should not be confused with a lack of appreciation for what has been done or a hidden desire to find fault out of spite.

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters In Schooner Nina Search

How long can 7 souls eek out a living on a damaged sailboat adrift in the toughest waters nature has to throw at an adventurer?

John Glennie, who holds the known record for the longest survival time at sea on an overturned trimaran called the Rose Noelle, says if the Nina is afloat, the sailors are alive.  John caught rain for water and fished to supply the nutrients needed for life for him and his three crew members. It was 119 days later the Rose Noelle washed up on the East side of New Zealand.

The Nina has been missing for over 170 days.  The Wright family, Robin and Ricky, went to New Zealand to do an areal search for the missing yacht.  They spent several days on Lord Howe Island, taking daily tours in a search route identified as most likely to hold the Nina.  After investing most of the piggy bank on this search, and finding nothing, the Wrights went to Australia.  Ricky is now taking private pilot lessons and searching for his daughter, Danielle Wright, as well.  They are searching up and down remote stretches of Australia coast line hoping to find the 1928 schooner and her crew.

The Wrights stand as the ultimate heroes in the Nina search.  It was Ricky Wright who asked Texas Equusearch to advise the families in a private search when New Zealand search and rescue threw in the towel. The Wrights, Kyle Jackson's father Duane Jackson and Salley Davis, Matthew Wootton's parents Sue and Ian Wootton, Lazslo Nemeth, son of Evi Nemeth, Ralph Baird, Executive Search Coordinator for TES, along with Larry Slack, Satellite Coordinator, Jerry Borrer, Drift Logistics Coordinator, Lenore Psencik, Adrienne Gauthier, Satellite Lead, John Funnell, Karen Lagow, and many more people in the Tomnod Search effort are all my heroes.  These are the troopers who have refused to give up the fight.  They see the vision of a floating Nina and want to do all that is possible to greet the 7 sailors back into society.

A tear rolls down my cheek thinking about these dedicated people sacrificing time, money, and an ocean of heart in the campaign to save the 7 sailors, Yet, I fight conflicting feelings.  As Ralph Baird said, if we sat any reasonable person down and laid out the tragic Nina story to them, everyone to a man-or woman, would agree, it is very likely the Nina is afloat and lost in the remote reverse circulating currents of the Tasman Sea.  Yet, no government is willing to step up with the resources necessary to bring the crew home.  Only governments have these resources.  When I think of how my own government, for one, has failed these sailors, along with others, then those feelings of pride and appreciation for what individuals are doing gives way to rage over what governments are not doing.

There is more of the Nina story which remains untold.   That is true with almost every epic, there is a public story, and then there is the story behind the story.  Rarely does the true story ever come out.  When the story does come out, people slap their heads with their hands and say, "ohhh....NOW I understand why there were so many dedicated people working on the campaign.  It makes sense."  It makes sense for an all-out, no holds barred, government effort to rescue 7 people.  It does not look like that will happen.

The thing is, the family members representing the Nina crew all come from hard working, and frankly, patriotic roots.  They believe pursuing the American Dream is a two part process.  First, you have to do your part, which means education and career.  The second part is a strong belief in the government.  That is why, when the U.S. State Department failed to support the 6 American and 1 British sailors, there was a lot of bewilderment.  How is it, at a time when citizens need most for the Department of State to go to bat for them, the citizens, and their families, come up empty handed?  Rather than take their government to task, the families have mostly chosen to take the high road.

Fortunately, there is a bridge over troubled waters.  I am very proud to make up a tiny part of that bridge, which mostly consists of the dedicated search team mentioned.  What a great honor it is to work with incredibly talented people led by the Wright family, and advised by Texas Equusearch, in transcending geo-political problems.  We are in the search for Matthew Wootton, Danielle Wright, Kyle Jackson, Evi Nemeth, David Dyche, Rosemary Dyche, David Dyche IV on the historic schooner Nina.  Each of us has an opportunity to perhaps save a life in the Nina case.  The search team has paid dearly in all they have done.  The very least we can do is support the search, sign the petition and help the families bring the crew home.

GCaptain Article: Satellite Searches For Nina

Help Find The Nina: Tomnod

Donate To Search Fund HERE

Facebook:
Nina Vigil
Holding Hope
The Search For Damien Diamond and Richard Choi
Bringing Home The Nina and Her Crew

Updates: EVXX

Sign the Petition: HERE

Ralph Baird Talks About Hopes For Nina on NZ National Radio

Families and TES Spot Boat On Satellite

Ralph Baird is interviewed on New Zealand National Radio about the image spotted on satellite images taken of the Tasman Sea.  The images were taken by Digital Globe.  They are hosted on a crowd sourcing site called Tomnod.Search Updates:  www.evxx.com

Public Appeals To RCC-NZ To Resume Search For Lost Nina

The Nina Families Remain Hopeful

Texas Equusearch (TES) and the family members of the crew of the schooner, Nina, lost in the Tasman Sea, released photographs of an image they hope is the Nina.  The image was obtained after tasking satellites to take pictures of the Tasman Sea where the 1928 American treasure disappeared along with the 7 hands aboard. TES and the families want the Rescue Coordination Center, New Zealand (RCC-NZ) to open a new search for the sailors.

The search has been intensive and well coordinated.  The satellite images are hosted on a crowd sourcing site called Tomnod.  TES and the families worked with Fort Collins based Digital Globe to take the photographs.  Over 16,000 people signed up to help review images.  All the hard work may now be paying off.

Mystery Boat, Is This The Nina?

So far, the RCC-NZ refuses to bend on opening a new search for the boat.  Under one of their theories, they say the boat sank.  However, sinking is one of six scenarios the RCC-NZ postulated about the Nina. Other scenarios include the possibility the boat is disabled and drifting or the sailors took to a life raft. The fact is, no evidence has ever been produced to prove the Nina sank, despite the largest search ever launched by the RCC-NZ.

The families say the Nina is floating in reverse circular currents of the Tasman Sea.  As proof, they point to John Glennie, who survived 119 days after his yacht, the Rose Noelle, capsized off of the East coast of New Zealand.  Officials gave up the search for Glennie and the family held a eulogy.  Still, Glennie and his 3 crew mates survived the ordeal, fishing for food and catching rain water for hydration.  Though the Nina disappeared on the West side of New Zealand, both the Rose Noelle and the Nina had problems on the same day of the year, June 4th, significant because it is winter time.

Bob McDavitt

TES and the families base their assertions on the efforts by a high tech team including volunteer NASA scientists, fluid hydrologists and geophysicists who study what happens to liquid, in this case, ocean water, and things which are deposited in them.  Figuring out where the Nina could have drifted to has been a monumental task.  However, TES has employed new methods to use existing SAROPS drift analysis software along with the tasking, for the first time ever, of satellites over the Tasman Sea in the search of a private boat.

According to an article in the New Zealand Herald, meteorologist Bob McDavitt, the satellite images could not be ruled out as representing the Nina.  McDavitt was advising friend and Nina crew member Evi Nemeth, and had the last known conversation by text with the missing sailors.  People from all over the world support the reopening of the search for the missing sailors.

Texas Equusearch is a non-profit organization founded by Tim Miller to locate missing people.  TES uses high technique tactics plus volunteers to help the authorities locate and close old missing person's cases.  TES has been credited with locating over 300 people alive which law enforcement has been unable to find.  The Texas based organization has also been able to find over 100 people who were missing and deceased, including a Navy t-34 pilot.  None of the TES volunteers are paid, including the Nina search Executive Adviser, Ralph Baird.  However, the advances made by the families will help all sailors who become lost in the Tasman Sea.

Coast Guard Asks Help After Refusing To Cooperate

Coast Guard looking for 2 fishermen reported missing near Bryan Beach

Bryan Beach

FREEPORT, Texas – Search and rescue crews are looking for two fishermen reported missing Saturday afternoon near Bryan Beach.

According to Texas Equusearch, who is helping the U.S. Coast Guard with the search, two Vietnamese men in their mid-30s were wade fishing at Bryan Beach just off Highway 1495 at 4:30 p.m. A woman in her mid-30s was also with them.

The trio got caught up in the rough surf and were swept away, witnesses said. Bystanders were able to rescue the woman, but could not reach the two men.

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching the area with a boat and a helicopter, while Texas Equusearch is assisting with their sonar equipment and all-terrain vehicles.

The beach was temporarily closed on Saturday due the rough surf and high tides generated by Tropical Storm Karen.

It is hard to believe, this is the same U.S. Coast Guard who refused all help and continues to refuse all help in saving the 7 crew members missing on the schooner Nina.  The Nina disappeared in the Tasman Sea on June 4th, 2013.  Texas Equusearch approached the Coast Guard for help running drift modeling.  The Coast Guard said it could not run the drift modeling because the U.S. State Department would not let them.

The Rescue Coordination Center-New Zealand (RCC-NZ) suspended it's search for the 7 sailors missing on the Nina on July 5th, 2013.  Texas Equusearch was asked to advise Ricky Wright in his search for his daughter, Danielle Wright, age 19, who is a crew member aboard the Nina.  The family suspects the Nina is afloat but caught in reverse circulating currents which occur in the Tasman Sea. The Coast Guard was asked to run a computer program  at a nominal cost to the Coast Guard so the families could determine the most likely course the Nina may have taken.  The Coast Guard refusal cost the search significant sums and delayed the running of the programs pending location of a private contractor who agreed to run the programs for a price.  Despite drawbacks, Texas Equusearch found a better way to run the drift modeling adding to the accuracy of the program.

Many people speculate the Nina will eventually drift to an Australian beach like other boats lost in the region, hence presenting potential political problems for the US State Department which steadfastly has refused to devote resources to save the 7 sailors.  The boat will likely drift to land within 1 year, before Secretary of State John Kerry makes a bid for the White House.  While sailors can survive at sea for extended periods of time, it is unknown what that maximum period is.  Surviving a year at sea with no provisions, catching fish and depending upon rain for water, limits life expectancy.  At the least, survivors will testify to the hardships they faced because their country refused to lift a finger to save them.  Except for local coverage, a press blackout has existed around the missing sailors and the battle the families have endured to enlist the aid of the U.S. to help them.  Last year the yacht Scotch Bonnet was abandoned near the last known position of the Nina.  It took nearly 6 months to drift ashore and was spotted only one time during it's journey.

You can help save the 7 sailors by looking for the boat on satellite images taken by Digital Globe.

Texas Equusearch has proven a great friend of the U.S. Coast Guard and the US Navy, as well as law enforcement.  The non-profit organization has been able to locate missing people who the Coast Guard and law enforcement often are unable to locate.  The organization works under the direction of law enforcement and marshals volunteers to do searches.  They also deploy high technology equipment to solve missing persons cases.  To date, they have found over 300 people alive who disappeared, and over 100 persons who were deceased.

Kiwi's Push To Take Cup Today!

Two Wins To Victory!

INDEX OF PAST POSTS

LAST 5 POSTS

Page 67  Don't Play Cat And Mouse Games With Me!
Page 68  A Special Song Inspires, Kingdom
Page 69  Kiwi's Push For Win At America's Cup
Page 70  Oracle Team Has Everything To Lose, and Everything To Gain
Page 71  My First Bit Part In A Music Video

Oracle Team Fighting For Survival!

Oracle Team has fallen hopelessly behind the New Zealand team.  All the Emirates Team NZ needs is two more wins.  If those come today, the planned press conference will turn into a final award of the America's Cup.

Oracle Team is defending the Cup.  New Zeland is on it's toes, the entire nation of 4 million anxious for any news.  Oracle Team inched closer to making this an even race with one win during the past race day.  However, they needed both wins to keep the Kiwi's from marching to victory.

The video is of the Luis Vuitton Cup, which helped the Kiwi's practice their style!





Stay tuned to Sailing Savoir Faire for news about the America's Cup and the quest of two nation's to win the Cup.  The Kiwi's push for a steal, while the U.S. Oracle Team seeks to keep the Cup here in the U.S. 

NEWS OF THE MISSING RACING SCHOONER THE NINA!

Volunteers continue to work on the search for the Nina.  Official government efforts halted on July 5th, 2013.  The family believes the sailors are on a disabled yacht, floating in the reverse circular currents of the Tasman Sea.  Eventually, the boat will float to Australia or New Zealand.  Past boats which took this route have floated for up to a year.
You can help find the Nina on satellite images taken by Digital Globe and served on a crowd sourcing site called Tomnod. Why not find the Nina HERE and put your name in the history books?

A Special Song Inspires The Search, Kingdom

A song for Danielle Wright and the 

crew of the Nina.

INDEX OF POSTS
Last 5 Posts

Page 63  Equusearch Ready To Scramble Over Life Raft

Page 64  New Zealand Teaches America A Lesson

Page 65  Planes Flying For Nina, 7 Man Crew Missing For 98 Days

Page 66  Do You C What I C?
Page 67  Don't Play Cat And Mouse Games With Me!

A special song for special people!  This one was written thinking of the Nina and one of her crew, Danielle Wright.

Thanks to the musical group Kingdom!
The schooner, Nina, an American treasure, went missing in the Tasman Sea.  A private rescue effort has been launched by some of the family members to find the missing seven member crew.
You can help find the missing crew!  Please check out these satellite images taken of the Tasman Sea by Digital Globe. When you spot the Nina, just pin it!
Start looking HERE!

Planes Flying For Nina, 7 Man Crew Missing 98 Days

Search by Air Continues, Nina Rescue

INDEX TO PRIOR POSTS

Last Five Posts

Page 60  It Was Good New, More Good News and Still More Good News
Page 61  Lafayette, Louisiana to Bassett Nebraska, In Support Of The Nina 7 
Page 62  Prayers For A Pioneer, Equusearch Founder, Tim Miller
Page 63  Equusearch Ready To Scramble Over Life Raft
Page 64  New Zealand Teaches America A Lesson

Planes were back in the air this weekend looking for a seven man crew aboard the historic schooner, the Nina.  The sailors have been missing since June 4th.  They are spending their 98th day since "a catastrophic event" destroyed their sails and power, leaving them floating and stranded without communications in the Tasman Sea between the coast of New Zealand and Australia. 

Map of Current Search Area

Friday, there was great enthusiasm in the ranks of Texas Equusearch, (TES) the organization charged with advising some of the family members about the best way to search for the sailors.  TES has been credited for finding 300 people which law enforcement and even the military were unable to locate.

Several of the people volunteering to look for the Nina on satellite images spotted what looked like a raft.  The find was exciting enough, TES had a drift model run on the object to determine where it likely drifter to since being photographed on September 2nd, 2013.  Planes were scrambled to search for the object plus search a target area just off the coast of Australia where many yachts have drifted to when left to their own devices.

Executive Search Coordinator, Ralph Baird, said   "The search aircraft has returned to Ballina NSW AUS at the end of day, Monday(Monday morning in Houston TX/Lafayette LA/Bassett NE); search areas north and west of the Middleton Reef and east of the Middleton Basin including search area SA-209-02 are being searched. So far in the past few days, 8260 sq NM have been searched around these two areas bracketing 159 deg longitude; one plane will be back Tuesday (our Monday night) to continue the visual air searches. See map attached here.

Meanwhile, a fundraiser held in the small community of Bassett, Nebraska, raised a significant sum of money.  The community came out in support of the Sandhills lost youth, Kyle Jackson, a former U.S. senatorial Paige and self styled adventurer.

You can help find the seven sailors stranded on the Nina.  Digital Globe located in Longmont Colorado is the parent company of the crowd sourcing social net program, Tomnod.  Go to Tomnod, and see if you spot her!  Tomnod is serving the satellite images to the public.

Search updates can be found at EVXX.com