Fed: Hopes fade for Australian kayaker lost in Tasman

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2007
Fed: Hopes fade for Australian kayaker lost in Tasman

SYDNEY, Feb 11 AAP - Hopes of finding missing trans-Tasman kayaker Andrew McAuley alive
are fading after rescuers discovered he may not have been carrying a vital piece of survival
equipment - a full-body immersion suit.

Rescue advisers will decide tomorrow whether to continue searching for the 39-year-old
Australian, whose upturned kayak was spotted by a New Zealand air force plane yesterday
afternoon in rough seas about 75km off Milford Sound in the south island.

There was no sign Mr McAuley, who had been expected to arrive in Milford Sound today
after leaving Tasmania on January 11 in an attempt to become the first person to paddle
across the Tasman in a kayak.

Concerns about his safety emerged after New Zealand maritime authorities picked up
a garbled distress message on Friday night.

Advisers of the Rescue Coordination Centre of NZ will meet around 10am (AEDT) tomorrow
to assess the weather, ocean currents, the time elapsed since the search began and the
gear Mr McAuley carried.

Authorities had hoped the adventurer could survive for at least a few days in the conditions,
believing he was probably wearing his lifejacket and a full-body immersion suit.

But a spokeswoman for the rescue centre, Annie Lattey, said today it had been learned
McAuley did not have the immersion suit with him.

A full-body immersion suit would have extended his survival in the water by up to 11 hours.

"Andrew was not in fact wearing a full body immersion suit. We found that out this
afternoon," she said.

It was now thought he may have only had a dry kayaking jacket on board and his life
jacket, she said.

"It obviously does have an impact on things. Survival suits give about 10-11 hours
extra. He has been in the water now for about 48 hours."

However, Ben Deacon, a friend of the adventurer and a member of the team making a documentary
about his voyage, said he was certain McAuley was carrying an immersion suit.

"There has been a bit of confusion on their (the rescuers') part. They have got that
information from (Andrew's wife) Vicki who is very upset at the moment," he said.

"Vicki wasn't really in a position to give chapter and verse of Andrew's equipment," he said.

Deacon said he had not been able to find a detailed list of the equipment McAuley took
with him, but he was in no doubt his friend would have carried it on board.

"The dry suit was his pride and joy. It cost him a fortune," Deacon said.

However, even if he was carrying the suit, it would only have extended his survival
for up to 11 hours and he had been missing for two days by tonight.

Earlier today documentary maker and spokeswoman for the McAuley family Jen Peedom said
Vicki McAuley - Andrew's wife - was distraught after learning last night that her husband's
empty kayak had been found.

"I would say that Vicki is in shock," Peedom said.

Vicki is staying in Te Anau, near Milford Sound, with her three-year-old son Finlay,
Andrew's father Peter and his sister Juliette.

AAP vpm/jt/de

KEYWORD: NZ KAYAK 2ND NIGHTLEAD

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