Missing yacht "Nina" presumed sunk off New Zealand

I've been following this for awhile. Fairly certain and very sad. I'm surprised that no signal was received from the EPIRB.

That is indeed a treacherous stretch of ocean from everything I've heard (yet I've heard friends of these people say they weren't expecting a hard crossing), and there is always hope. We've all heard some amazing tales of survival. So we hope.
It truly is amazing how many people will spend the money to get an EPIRB and then either not register it or, as you say, store it someplace where it can't float off. Hopefully this mention will educate at least one boater. Too many people buy things so they can brag that they have it. Your equipment is nothing but a waste of money unless you know how to use it, and use it properly. I'm always amazed how many boaters hide their PFDs inside a bag and tucked into an interior closet or such. Folks, a boat can overturn or sink in a matter of moments. A fire on board may prevent you from getting to any area of your boat besides right where you are. Always know exactly where to look to find your latitude and longitude and know how to deploy ALL of your emergency equipment. You will NOT be able to put on your PFD once in the water. There's a reason boats carry more than just a spare tire. You and your gear may well be your first and only line of defense in an emergency.

Sails shreded

Apparently a text was received from the boat on the day they vanished. saying the sails had been shreded and they had bare masts. Leaves me to wonder about whether they carried a spare set of sails. Wouldn't that be standard on a vessel this size making a journey like this? Between this and no EPIRB or sat phone signal I'm getting the feeling that this vessel wasn't prepared for what they may encounter.

Final SMS: Sails 'shredded' on missing American schooner - World News

I read on one of the sailing forums that the EPIRB on board was a manual deployment type. As to the sails, they would have multiple sails onboard but they may not have been in a position to set anything new if the weather was bad enough to shred what was already in place.
I was once caught in a storm where we had 60knot winds for 12hrs. Within the first hour we were down to the storm jib, the boom was lashed to the deck and we were still doing 14kts. The storm jib started to tear at the clew had it let go entirely we'd have been toast as putting up another jib would have been almost impossible in those conditions.
So if Nina lost her sails in a storm in the Southern Ocean I'd be surprised if she survived.

I agree, once the wind speed goes to 'sod-off' numbers, no one is going on deck to change sails. It's downright dangerous. You just drop them and run under bare poles.

On delivery once on a 1901 90ft ketch, the weather went from a bit breezy to a full Force 9 to 10 rapidly in the night. Sails split, thick rigging parts went BANG across the deck. Even the solid 1 1/2" stainless belaying pins bent like red licorice laces.

You are in the hands of the gods.

I was referring to the general area

OK already , come to the Great Lakes and let's compare knowledge.

It has been reported they had a manual deploy epirb. If true is there any justification for not having an automatic deploy on their epirb? Mine is a a hydrostatic release so simply getting it wet won't release it. Hate to think it was just for a couple of hundred dollars.

It never ceases to amaze what people will do to save a couple of dollars. Another site that caters to the slow boat crowd recently had a thread about 4 guys with no experience delievering a new (to them) boat from Puget Sound to the Bay Area. They had 3 exposure suits among them, no raft but according to one of the volunteer delivery crew, the owner said he would rent one for the trip.

Some discussion came up about the wisdom of some of the decisions and the owner chimed in with the reason for changing his mind about renting a raft was the shipping cost to return it from the Bay Area to Seattle. Ya really got to wonder sometimes ...

Snapped/lose a plank... would of gone down real quick, by the look of the photo, she didn't look to good. Cheers

Far

This CAT1 Survey requirement sounds interesting. I'd never heard of that requirement. Do any other countries require it for non-commercial vessels? It certainly sounds like lack of maintenance, planning and emergency equipment, combined with hell on the seas, caused this tragedy.

"... sailed by a traditionalist skipper who refused to have "gadgets" aboard ..."

And died in the traditional manner.

Like the idiot who sank the Bounty, those guys honestly believe they are different than those who went to the bottom on old and poorly maintained sailing ships. They have been drowning that way for a thousand years and are not likely to stop in this century either.

Some people believe that how you live is more important than how long you live. Some trust tradition and experience more than gadgets. I've been on many boats where the owners had every new gadget that came on the market, and didn't have a clue what to do with any of them. Which is worse? As for poor maintenance, if I could only count so high the number of fancy boats I've been aboard to find oil and trash filled bilges and blocked bilge pumps. That in no way exonerates this skipper. Personally I think he screwed up in several ways. But I can also understand thinking that a boat that's been sailing for 90 years will complete its next voyage.
As for the Bounty's captain, I have nothing but respect for him. However, he screwed up and it cost him his ship and his life as well as a crew member's. This is a business where you often only get to make one mistake. I'm extremely hesitant to condemn a captain who goes down with his ship and is no longer around to defend himself.