It's been almost two months since communication was lost to the schooner, Nina, on which a young Lafayette woman was a crewman. Danielle Wright attended UL and SLCC, and had sailing experience when she set off on the adventure of a lifetime at sea right after finals at UL. Strong winds and powerful waves were pounding the boat when it was last heard from, between New Zealand and Australia.

[Message from crew member Kyle Jackson begins at 1:23 in the clip below.]

The last satellite message from the sailboat, typed on June 4, 2013, and was never delivered read,

"SAILS SHREDDED LAST NIGHT, NOW BARE POLES” the message reads.

"GOINING 4KT 310DEG WILL UPDATE COURSE INFO @ 6PM [sic]."

[Read more about the message from News 3 New Zealand here.]
New Zealand authorities have suspended their search, but Danielle's parents are trying to raise money to continue looking for their daughter and the six other missing sailors. It is possible that are still lost at sea, aboard a helpless Nina or in a lifeboat. Donations will fund search efforts conducted by Texas Equusearch, which also helped in the search for Mickey Shunick, with the use of geophysical sonar, aerial drones and other aids. You can donate through the Community Foundation of Acadiana's website.

[For more on the controversy concerning the seaworthiness of the Nina, click here.]

[UPDATE 7/23/13: Mickey Wright, Danielle's father was a guest on the CJ and Debbie Ray show today and asked citizens to contact their lawmakers to help in the search. He believes there is an 80% chance that the crew is still afloat somewhere in the Coral Sea, having been blown by the storm outside the area that was searched.]

 

 

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