DERELICT CRAFT SIGHTED RY PILOT OF PLANE

Chronicle (Levin), 12 February 1948, Page 5

DERELICT CRAFT SIGHTED RY PILOT OF PLANE

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Received Thursd&y, 10.10 a.m. SYDNEY, February 12. The pilot of a priyate pljape has re'ported seeing- a bjg yacht south of Fort Hacking at dusk yesterday, which r,e-: sembled pictures of the missing N.ew Zealand cuttef, Rangi. • He said the yacht w-as making no headway. It had its iib and mainsail set but no sign of life aboard was seen.

"The last I saw of the yacht, it was heading into the nprth-east .breeze out of control with its rnam-v-;'ail flapping," said the pilot, who ihformed the poiice of the yacht. Shore watchers reported the Rangi had been sighted off Thirroul, on the south coast of New South Wales, at 5.44 p.m. y.esterday and off Port Acking, at 8.30 p.m. The signal master at South Head sai*d he is expecting a schooner. from Hobart and it is possible that this schooner may have been mistaken for the Rangi. The four Lincoln bombers and Cafalina will continue the search today. More than 20,000 square miles of the Tasman have now been combed by R.A.A.F. aircraft and if no trace

is foupd tqday, the R.A.F. search will" probably'be abandoned. STILL NO RADIO CONTACT All attempts to communicate with the missing New Zealand c.utter Rangi. having failed, the secretary of the Royal Prince Alfred •Yacht Club, Mr. Kyd, said he believed the yacht was a "drifting derelict." "Our only chance of contact is by - searching planes," he added.