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.

Do You C What I C? Nina Rescue, Bring Seven Sailors Home

C Means Commonality

Blog Index, Learn More About The Nina

Last 5 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

One of the things that intrigues me about the Nina crew is their diversity.  After doing my research about the 7 people aboard the American treasure, the Nina, a schooner that went missing in the Tasman Sea on June 4th, 2013, my first thought was, "Wow! Imagine the discussions these people will have together!"

It is not that the Nina 7 have common political views.  In fact, a coming together of the left and the right and an in between in an adventure can only yield good things.  That is how the voyage started.  What an eclectic gathering of people!  No one could have imagined the voyage would turn into a major rescue!

These are seven people from very different backgrounds.  Their life experiences will be great opportunities to learn, one from the other. They come from  both liberal and conservative perspectives.  Add to that the unfaltering optimism of the young, tempered with the wisdom of older and experienced thinkers, and one ends up with an incredibly interesting mix of people.

Robin and Ricky Wright speak at a fundraiser in Louisiana

By now, I imagine, this crew knows each other so well, they consider one another family.  More, I have a suspicion, each will walk away from this ordeal with a more accepting and broader view of the other's most cherished viewpoints.

Bringing Home The Nina And Her Crew

When I was a 16 year old youth, I had a very rigid view of the world.  Some adults used to lavish a lot of praise upon me.  

"Why, a member of the Young Republicans.  And you are only 16, Timothy?  Maybe you should run for office!"

"Others would say, "You are going far, kid," not really knowing how far I would go, but wanting to encourage me in the way adults talk to younger people.  

Maybe I am naive, but politics were friendlier in those days, when my dad stood for election as county judge each four years.  Way back when, people actually walked across the aisle to get to know the other side.  For our English friends, "walking across the isle" is a metaphor which means genuinely trying to work out differences in philosophy between members of political parties with divergent views.  

There was a sense we all shared a common purpose, which was to make America better.  No matter which path was ultimately chosen, America would be better from this collaboration between opposing party members with different points on the political compass.   That was the old days.

Nina Vigil, Bring The Crew Home

Today, one of my biggest disappointments has been the fracturing and polarity of Americans.  If I were to leave this Earth today, it is to a less friendly society.   The elephant and the donkey are bitter enemies in some quarters.  They don't know each other any more because they quit talking to each other years ago.   The word compromise does not exist in their vocabularies.  It is as if they have nothing in common, least of which is how to get wherever our country is going, presumably to a better America.  

 If that is how things are aboard the Nina, our crew is in for big trouble.  But you know it can't be that way.  That is because the life-predicament the seven sailors share in common transcends their greatest philosophical differences.  Working together means mutual survival.  One must look out for the other.  By looking at the life struggle of the other, by seeing what bonds them, rather than how each differs, our seven sailors are collectively stronger.  

It is the collective cause which attracts me to the Nina rescue.  It does not matter where you are on various national or world issues or what political party you belong to or even what country you are from. This is an issue we all understand.  We all know how it feels when a loved one is at risk.  Help is needed, now! 

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Because some of that help may need to come from government, our messaging and our ability to appeal to both sides of the aisle, and in fact, many countries around the world, is critical. My question, can we, as volunteers, find the common bond which appeals to each of us and convey that common bond to all Americans, and to all people?  I think we can, if we try.