Friday, February 9th, 2007. Search for Andrew McAuley.
At 19:36 gmt two news agencies released that the Rescue Coordination Centre launched a search after receiving a distorted radio message from the remote area of Fiordland, late last night. The message was not an explicit distress call but came in on the maritime band. The Australian paddler Andrew McAuley is expected to arrive at Milford Sound tomorrow, after leaving Tasmania on January 11th.
Rescue officials informed that two boats spent last night searching for the source of the radio broadcast, originating in remote Fiordland. A helicopter from Te Anau will rejoin the search today, after it made last night several unsuccessful passes over the area using night vision equipment.
The Rescue Centre is not sure if the highly unusual message was emitted from McCauley, but it is making every effort to be sure.
Most probably, the distorted message was caused by the failing equipment and McAuley is making unbeknown, steady progress towards his destination.
Today, the report of the land crew that supports McAuley’s crossing informed that they have been anxiously awaiting his daily situation reports, as yesterday he alerted them to the possibility of loss of communication. Then, McAuley was down to one remaining satellite phone and could not charge the batteries for unknown reasons. The tally of equipment failure thus far comprises the tracking beacon, a secondary satellite phone, a broken pivot arm on the cockpit cover and his watch, rendering McAuley to fix a time.
In spite of the grueling journey, yesterday he was reported in an impressive feat of navigation, to be 120 kilometers off his destiny, Milford Sound.
Milford Sound, also known as Piopiotahi in Maori, is located in the south west of New Zealand’s South Island. Although called a sound, it is more accurately classified as a fjord. Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1200 metres or more on either side. Lush rain forests cling precariously to these cliffs.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Last Update: Saturday, February 10, 2007. 9:03am (AEDT)
Mr McAuley’s brother, Michael, says the family believes the signal has come from another person.
He says the 39 year-old’s emergency beacon has not been activated.
“Having contacted the team over there this morning, we don’t think it’s Andrew,” he said.
“They’ve had a good listen to the recording and my father’s told me that it doesn’t sound like Andrew, the terminology and the voice doesn’t sound like him at all, so they’re telling me that they’re not overly concerned.”
Mr McCauley set out from Tasmania on January 11 for the 1,600 kilometre paddle and was on schedule to arrive this weekend despite deteriorating weather conditions.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Upturned kayak found off Fiordland
10/02/2007 21:00:02
Emergency services have found an upturned kayak off the coast of the South Island.
They are looking for Australian adventurer, 39-year-old Andrew McAuley, who was paddling from Tasmania to Milford Sound.
radio distress call was heard from off the coast of Fiordland last night.
An Air Force Orion scouring the area has just spotted an upturned kayak 40 nautical miles off the coast of Milford.
A helicopter is on its way there.
There is no sign of the kayak’s occupant.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Upturned kayak found in search for Aussie
February 10, 2007 - 7:48PM
What appears to be an upturned kayak has been spotted by a New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft searching for suspected missing Australian paddler Andrew McAuley.
There was no sign of Mr McAuley but a helicopter and rescue crew were on their way to try to locate him, if the upturned kayak was indeed his, rescue services said.
The search plane made the discovery around 75km west of Milford Sound.
Mr McAuley was expected to arrive in Milford Sound on New Zealand’s south island tomorrow after departing Fortescue Bay, Tasmania, on January 11.
Concerns about his safety emerged today when a garbled message was monitored in New Zealand on the maritime distress channel 16.
Spokesman for the New Zealand National Rescue Coordination Centre (NRCC) Lyndsay Sturt said the rescue crew would winch down to the craft and divers would be at the ready to start a search of the surrounding water.
Although the light was failing, Mr Sturt said the increasing darkness would not stall a rescue mission if the kayak find was confirmed.
“It won’t be too dark as long as they can see the kayak. They know where it is and I’m sure they would have dropped a smoke flare so it was more easily found,” Mr Sturt said.
“There’s a spotlight on board the helicopter (but) we’ll have to make a decision about what next when we know if he’s on board.
“We just don’t know that at this stage.”
Mr McCauley had encountered bad weather, numerous capsizes and attention from sharks during his 1,600km expedition.
He was paddling a sea kayak fitted with a cockpit cover, offering some protection from the elements, and a solar panel to power instruments and communications equipment.
The entire journey has been undertaken below the 40th parallel, an area that regularly produces some of the world’s worst weather.
The discovery of the upturned kayak casts doubt on initial theories that the distress call, which was very distorted, may have been a hoax.
Mr McAuley’s wife Vicki earlier told the Ten Network she was “100 per cent certain” the distress call hadn’t come from her husband.
His brother, Michael, told Sky News the family believed the signal had come from another person.
He said the 39-year-old’s emergency beacon had not been activated.
Australia’s search and rescue service, AusSAR, has no involvement in the search.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Milford Sound Water Temperature.
In summer the water temperatura in Milford Sound is around 16 degress Celsius. During winter the temperature of the sea water only drops to around 12 degrees.
Information on the weather off the coast of Milford Sound may be found in NZ Met Service.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Fears for Aussie paddler as kayak found
10th February 2007, 19:08 WST
An inflatable dinghy launched from a cruise ship is trying to reach what is believed to be the upturned kayak of Australian Andrew McAuley, missing in rough seas off New Zealand’s South Island.
Fading light and choppy seas prevented the crew of a rescue helicopter from winching down to the site.
A spokeswoman for New Zealand National Rescue Coordination Centre (NRCC) Annie Lattey said rescuers would not know if the upturned kayak was Mr McAuley’s until they reached it.
“We won’t know until we hear back from the guys in the inflatable and they’ve retrieved the kayak,” Ms Lattey said.
“We expect to hear within the next half hour (around 9pm AEDT). At that point we’ll make a call as to what the next steps are.”
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
Andrew McAuley’s vessel retrieved
February 10, 2007 10:06pm
Article from: AAP
Rescue services have retrieved the upturned kayak of Australian Andrew McAuley, missing in rough seas off New Zealand’s south island.
There was no sign of Mr McAuley and rescue services said poor light has forced the search to be suspended for the night.
A New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft made the discovery late this afternoon around 75km west off Milford Sound.
A rescue crew reached the upturned kayak by inflatable dinghy launched from a cruise ship after fading light and choppy seas prevented them from winching down to the site from a helicopter.
[Ignacio Wenley Palacios]
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Reader Comments (1)
Hopefully the origin of the distress signal is promptly discovered and that all is well.