Last Message From Ship: 'Sails Shredded'

There's a new ominous clue in the disappearance of the historic schooner Nina, indicating that the ship was limping along without much in the way of sails, traveling at just four knots. The last text message sent from the ship read as follows, the AP reports: "Thanks storm sails shredded last night, now bare poles. Goining 4kt 310deg will update course info (at) 6PM."

The message was never delivered. It was sent on June 4, a day after the ship called New Zealand meteorologists for advice avoiding extreme weather. "While it shows that Nina had survived the storm up to that point, very poor weather continued in the area for many hours and has been followed by other storms," a New Zealand official said. The New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre obtained the text from the satellite phone company Iridium with the help of the US State Department. (More The Nina stories.)