Police Bid To Board Stolen Yacht Fails

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29746, 13 February 1962, Page 12

Police Bid To Board Stolen Yacht Fails

A police party which attempted to board a stolen yacht north of Kaikoura last evening was beaten off by three men who lined the railing with paddles.

The yacht, the schooner Kotiti, was stolen from her moorings in Lyttelton Harbour on Sunday night.

A widespread search is being conducted for the 16 ton. ;wo-masted schooner.

Aircraft operated by N.A.C. and T.E.A.L. and overseas and coastal ships have been alerted by the police to keep a look out for the Kotiti. A naval reserve launch, with a police party aboard, left Wellington last evening with the intention of intercepting the yacht. A large fishing launch, the Lister Maris, with Constables T Mickell and V. Gilmore and Messrs S. Wilson and S. Galbraith on board, put out from Kaikoura to intercept the yacht. Just south of the mouth of the Clarence river the launch endeavoured to come alongside the yacht so the police could board her.

When the Lister Maris approached thd" yacht, which was travelling under sail and using the motor, it turned away and the launch gave chase. An attempt was made to bring the launch alongside the yacht and that was when the men lined the rail with the paddles. “They were very determined men,” said one constable when the launch arrived back at Kaikoura at 11.35 p.m. The launch left Kaikoura at 4.40 p.m. and intercepted the yacht after a chase about 7.30 p.m. The two vessels travelled close together on a parallel course for about an hour.

The three men on the schooner held a conference and it appeared that two of them were in favour of giving themselves up, but the third man argued with them. The lights on the yacht

were extinguished and it headed out to sea. The Lister Maris is owned by Mr S. Wilson, of Beach road. Kaikoura. It is equipped with radio and was in communication with the Nelson Fisheries. Ltd., radio station at Kaikoura.

The 40ft schooner, painted white, is equipped with an auxiliary diesel engine. It has a speed of five knots when the engine alone is used, and had a half full tank of fuel, sufficient to travel about 150 miles on the engine.

The yacht has a 10ft 6in beam, a wheelhouse, and there is light red paint on the deck. It is owned by Lieutenant-Colonel A. C. R. Elderton and Mrs Elderton, of 124 Avonside drive. Avonside. . The mainsail, on the mast nearer the stern, has All painted on the sail. There were 50 gallons of fresh -water aboard, but no food. The Kotiti was estimated to be about 100 miles off Lyttelton at 5 p.m. yesterday. The yacht can be handled by one man, but this would be difficult on a journey of any length in the open sea. Two men, who failed to arrive at work yesterday, may be on the yacht. A green car was found on the wharves at Lyttelton yesterday. When a naval rating, Barry Grafton, went aboard the P 3563, a naval motor launch yesterday morning, he found that the hatch had been tampered with and this aroused his suspicions.

The owner of the fishing trawler, Pup, Mr Jack Partington, found that the boat’s dinghy was missing. It was seen floating in the harbour and when recovered it contained a piece of a door from another fishing trawler, the Melba. This had apparently been used as a paddle. About 10.30 p.m. on Sunday a Lyttelton Harbour Board watchman thought he heard men trying the doors of the board's sheds near the dry dock. He switched on the lights and looked around but saw nothing. He informed the watchman at the roundhouse.

The Lyttelton police were informed at 2 am. and ■**•>- stables J J. O'Halloran and S Rarere made a patrol of the area but saw nothing suspicious Heard Noises A man sleeping aboard the fishing trawler. Fisher Lassie, heard noises about midnight. He got up and had a look around but it was very dark and he saw nothing. Next morning when he awoke he saw the dinghy from the Pup. which was moored nearby, was missing.

The Kotiti had a speed of seven or eight knots under sail in a favourable wind Lieutenant-Colonel Elderton and some friends sailed the yacht on Sunday afternoon Detective - Sergeant T Thomson, who was the acting chief detective at the Central Police Station yesterday, is in charge of the search operations

The police want to interview Robert James Barnett, aged 26, a marine engineer, who failed to appear yesterday morning for trial in the Supreme Court on a charge of false pretences involving £905. A bench warrant for his arrest was issued by Mr Justice Richmond. Barnett was released on bail of £250 in his own recognisance after the hearing in the lower court. He was ordered to report daily to the police-and reported as required up to and including Sunday evening Mr Justice Richmond adjourned the court for one hour yesterday morning while inquiries were made for Barnett. A police car went to his home, but he could not be found

Barnett is alleged to have obtained a car valued at £725 and £lBO in money from James Coulter Pateman on June 19 by falsely representing that a car which he sold to Paleman was his own free and unencumbered property The Kotiti had been a well known landmark at Moncks May where it was built by the late Mr Peter Lamb It was the biggest and most recent addition to the Banks Peninsula Cruising Club's fleet.