Friends of a sailor whose boat was found off the Chatham Islands with only his dog on board say they will not stop their quest to find him.
South African Paul van Rensburg left Tauranga with his dog Juanita on 12 March to sail to Gisborne, where he was due to start a new job, on a voyage expected to last three days.
The experienced sailor's 11-metre yacht Tafadzwa was found drifting about 110km west of the Chatham Islands by an Air Force Orion during a training flight on Sunday.
The crew of a fishing vessel diverted to the scene found his two-year-old retriever cross alive amongst his raft, dinghy, emergency beacon and a kayak when they boarded on Monday morning.
Warwick Gowland says there is a slim possibility that his friend is alive and there are pockets of land along the route the yacht took that have not been checked.
Mr Gowland says he and other friends will confirm their search plans on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, Chatham Islands police are trying to gather as much data as possible from the salvaged yacht.
Constable Kane Haerewa told Morning Report the vessel's GPS will be checked to see if it shows the route taken over the past two weeks.
Mr Haerewa will also check how much fuel is left, how much food is on board and how much rubbish is there, to try to get an idea of how long Mr van Rensburg has been off the boat.
A video will be made documenting the condition of the yacht and sent to the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington.
