‘The Most Wonderful Friend’: Kayaker’s lost friends seek a drone to help with the search

A kayak buddies who went missing overnight off Wellington’s southern coast are fundraising for a drone to help search for their “most awesome buddy”.

A kayak was found in the waters in Tarakina Bay, near the southern end of the Wellington airport runway, on Wednesday afternoon and police confirmed they had identified who was on the boat but was still missing.

The search included defense forces and other helicopters, the Wellington Coast Guard volunteer, police fired Lady Elizabeth IV, land hunters, and more.

a Givealittle PageCreated on Monday, friends said they hope to have a thermal imaging drone to join the search, but that costs $ 250 an hour.

The fundraising page said it was too windy for some of the helicopters.

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“He is the most wonderful friend and has a partner who loves him very much as well as family and friends,” read the statement.

Wellington Coast Guard chief Vicky Rowland said service volunteers were out searching the waters until 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, then returned to the search on Monday.

The Coast Guard has been called in to assist the police in the search in Palaiser Bay, off the southern coast in Wairaraba and about 25 kilometers from where the kayak was found, Sunday morning.

But Roland confirmed at around 1.30pm on Monday that police had removed the Coast Guard and had returned to Wellington.

She could not confirm the reason for canceling it. Defense Forces are also participating, using a helicopter, in the search, which includes areas such as Bricker Bay and Seton near Wellington.

Police confirmed that the search for the missing kayaker was still in progress.

Senior Sergeant Dave Houston, the officer in charge of the Wellington Police Naval Unit, said earlier that the drift patterns meant that the police launch was focused on Palaiser Bay.

Houston said winds in Palaiser Bay are expected to rise to 40 knots – or 74 kilometers per hour – by Monday, which will make the search even more difficult.

The man’s red kayak, with fresh fish on board, was found floating in Trakina Bay around 3.30pm on a Sunday.

A lot of things that ended up in the water in Wellington made their way to Palliser Bay because of the constant current south of the city that flows in that direction, said marine physicist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Craig Stephens.

The northwest winds on Sunday afternoon also tend to push things in this direction. He said there was also a high tide that could have triggered a withdrawal to Wellington Harbor and possibly towards Eastbourne.

Other coastal search teams were earlier searching along the coasts of Eastbourne, Winoyomata and Weerapa.

Anyone who locates any important items in these areas is required to call the police immediately at 111 and quote event number P045173862.

The rescue helicopter and police firing stopped shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, before the search began again this morning.

• Call the police at 105 and quote job number P045173862 if you know more