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Paul van Rensburg - Source: Close Up -
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An attempt will be made on Monday morning to see if the skipper is still on board the yacht Tafadzwa, found drifting 110km west of the Chatham Islands.
Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) spokesman Geoff Lunt says the yacht was spotted by an air force Orion on a training flight about 1.45pm on Sunday.
"Those on board the Orion have not been able to determine if the skipper of the yacht, Paul van Rensburg, is on board," Lunt says.
The yacht's main sail and jib were up but were extensively damaged, he says.
A fishing vessel in the vicinity diverted to the yacht but heavy seas meant it was too dangerous to try to board it.
"The skipper of the fishing vessel has told RCCNZ he used a loud hailer to try and attract the attention of anyone on board but received no response," Lunt says.
The fishing vessel remained alongside Tafadzwa overnight and an attempt will be made to board it on Monday morning, he says.
The RCCNZ launched a search for van Rensburg after he was reported overdue from a journey between Tauranga and Gisborne more than two weeks ago. It called off the search after three days, having covered 328,000 sq km.
Friends elated, frustrated
Meanwhile, friends of van Rensburg are elated his yacht has been found but say the official search was called off too soon.
Van Rensburg left Tauranga aboard his yacht, Tafadzwa, on March 12 and last called his partner at 2.11pm that day.
He was due in Gisborne on March 14 but failed to arrive.
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) launched a search on March 15 but called it off after three fruitless days.
Friends, including Warwick Gowland, continued searching, convinced the missing craft could be found.
Gowland said on Sunday night van Rensburg's friends were elated and remained hopeful their mate was alive.
"It's an indescribably emotional time," he said.
"We've gone from being elated to being frustrated."
The friends were desperate to establish whether the yacht's liferaft could be seen as that would give some immediate indication of van Rensburg's fate, and the RCCNZ had asked the fishing vessel whether it could see anything.
Gowland said the yacht was found in an area not covered by the RCCNZ search.
"We don't believe they kept their search going long enough," he said.
"They cut it off way too early, it's that simple.
"It was out there."
Gowland said it would be a long night for him and his friends but that there had been many long nights over the past fortnight.
"We just hope that it's huge news (in the morning)."
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