A second attempt to salvage the sunken yacht Nikita may be made on Sunday, says owner Paul Debenham.

Nikita sank during the storm that struck the Western Bay of Plenty two weeks ago. Since then only the top half of the ferro cement yacht's mast has shown above water.

The Nikita after the storm.

The first attempt to raise the sunken Nikita on Monday failed when a lifting bag burst, says Paul.

'One of their big bags burst on them, and once that had gone they didn't have any more that could replace it,” he says.

The yacht was lying on its side and was just starting to right itself when the bag broke loose and burst. That happened last Monday, but another company will be looking at the job over the weekend.

The location in the Stella passage is exposed to the tides and makes diving difficult, adds Paul.

He says: 'As a boatie, I never really recognised it sitting on the mooring. But when you have got that boat sitting in the water and the tide running through the rigging, it's very noticeable.

'The flood tide tends to come in and swirl. And it doesn't actually run like a river up the channel, so there's not a lot of movement on the flood tide.

'But once the tide turns and starts to go out it races down that channel like a river.”

Conditions are looking quite good for Sunday or Monday, says Paul. The tides are perfect and the wind is not looking too bad.