Divers will today take advantage of good conditions to continue the search for a man who may have drowned while rowing out to his boat in Picton Harbour last week.
Christopher Derek John Purdy, 56, who lived on his boat, was last seen on Wednesday night at a local pub.
His dinghy was found on land yesterday about a kilometre from where he would have launched after it was seen by a Interislander ferry captain floating upturned in the harbour.
Senior Sergeant Bruce Adams from the police national dive squad said divers had yesterday covered an area about 75 metres in radius from where Mr Purdy's boat is moored.
He told NZPA this morning there was a strong southerly blowing on the night he disappeared and six divers were today searching an area further north.
The search was being made easier because conditions were calm and if there was no sign of Mr Purdy today the dive team and local police and search and rescue representatives would reassess their options.
Mr Adams said the current search area was not interfering with the shipping lane, but if the area was widened those circumstances would need to be taken into consideration.
Fears were initially raised about Mr Purdy's disappearance when he failed to turn up for a friend's funeral service in Picton on Monday.
