Wreckage arrival unknown

Press, 1 February 1988, Page 7

Wreckage arrival unknown

There is still no word on the arrival of the Japanese trawler which is due at Lyttelton or Dunedin in the next few days carrying wreckage of the yacht Sequoiah 11. A spokesman for the Lyttelton Harbour Board said yesterday it was not known when the trawler Banshu Maru was expected. A former yacht crew

member, Mr John Miller, is keen to inspect the yacht when it is brought to shore. He believes he may be able to work out what happened to the yacht by looking at the wreckage. The 13 metre yacht disappeared without trace with its four crew members in the Tasman Sea in 1985, while returning home after competing in

the Auckland —Mooloolaba yacht race. It was last heard of in August, 1985. A piece of hull with the yacht’s nameplate and passport of one of the missing crew were among wreckage dredged up by the trawler off the Taranaki Coast earlier this month. The yacht was skippered by the experi-

enced yachtsman, Mr John Clark. Mr Miller said that by looking at the hull damage, he could gain some idea of what happened. He believed the Sequoiah II sank after a collision with another ship. A spokesman for the Otago Harbour Board could not say whether the trawler was expected at that port.