Missing yachtie Paul JanseVan Rensburg is an experienced ocean sailor who sailed his 11 metre sloop Tafadzwa from South Africa to New Zealand in 2006.
Paul, 40, is overdue on a voyage from Tauranga to Gisborne. He left Tauranga at 8.30am on Friday, but failed to show for work in Gisborne on Monday – when police were called.

Tafadzwa at Tauranga Marina.

A Royal New Zealand Airforce P3 Orion began searching at first light Wednesday morning for a yacht missing off the East Coast.
Rescue Coordination Centre NZ Search and Rescue mission coordinator Keith Allen says the P3 Orion left Whenuapai at 7am and has the capacity to search all day if needed.
Two search areas will be covered, one stretching from bottom of the Bay of Plenty and out from East Cape, with an area of around 7000 square miles. The second area is between East Cape and Gisborne and out to 50 nautical miles offshore, totalling around 17000 square miles.
'It's a large area to search but the P3 Orion is well equipped with radar and trained observers,” says Keith.
'The yacht is steel hulled which makes it an excellent target for the radar to find. The search conditions are good at present and the P3 Orion will be working to systematically cover the search plans we have provided.”
Tafadzwa has been based at the Tauranga Bridge Marina since 2006, says marina manager Tony Arnold.
Paul is a civil and construction engineer who travels with his work, usually visiting the boat with his dog Juanita on weekends.
Paul and Juanita were leaving Tauranga to go and live with Paul's girlfriend, says Tony.
'She's from there,” says Tony, 'she used to travel up from there on weekends.”
Tony says Tafadzwa is a ‘solid little lump' of a boat, a slab-sided, hard-chine design with a grey hull and white cabin.
'It's pretty identifiable.”
The East Cape area experienced wild weather over the weekend including high winds electrical storms and heavy rain as a southerly front blew through.
On Tuesday, a twin-engined PA31 equipped with radar and three trained observers searched an area up to 50km offshore from East Cape, without success.
While there were serious concerns for the missing vessel, Keith says the fact no wreckage or other sign of difficulty had been sighted today was potentially a good sign.
'The yacht has a water activated emergency beacon on board, which should have sent a signal if it was immersed in water,” says Keith.