A yacht has been found abandoned with its motor running 11 nautical miles east of Mayor Island off the coast of Tauranga.
The 12m single-masted yacht Honfleur was reported as spinning in circles at low speed with no one on board and its anchor dragging. A member of the public had spotted the deserted yacht and raised the alarm.
Its dinghy was later found some distance away.
The yacht was believed to have left Tauranga for Paihia on Sunday, skippered by 56-year-old Russell charter boat operator Richard Rusbatch.
Police and Coastguard members had gone out to the yacht and it was being sailed back to Tauranga.
