An air and sea search for a man missing in the South Pacific Ocean has been suspended.
The New Zealander was was sailing with two others from Rarotonga to Opua in Northland on the 14-metre yacht Wild Goose.
The man was not wearing a life jacket and fell overboard about 150 nautical miles west-south-west of Rarotonga on Thursday afternoon.
An airforce Orion, a French military plane, and a container vessel have covered 390 square kilometres of ocean looking for the man, but without success.
Maritime New Zealand says despite an extensive search, no new information was uncovered and it has decided to suspend the operation.
The harbour master of Avatiu harbour, where the yacht left from, says the crew registered their Hobart-based vessel before setting sail for New Zealand.
