Yachtie chats to wife while awaiting textbook rescue 100nm off NZ

by Sail-World.com/NZL on 11 Mar 2016 A Kiwi yachtsman did 'all the right things' when his 15-metre vessel began taking on water 100 nautical miles west of Kaitaia early this morning.

He activated his EPIRB rescue beacon to alert the Rescue Coordination Centre of New Zealand of his rapidly deteriorating situation and evacuated his sinking yacht for its life raft.

RCCNZ spokesperson John Ashby says the 48-year-old man from Helensville was in regular contact with his wife by a satellite tracking and messaging device that also provided information regarding his situation, and she was able to brief the rescue services on her husband's position and safe condition.

The yacht sunk quickly but RCCNZ was able to arrange swiftly for the Whangarei-based Northland Emergency Services Trust Rescue Helicopter team to pick him up from the life raft about 9 am this morning.

The two S-76 helicopters operated by NEST have a range of 728kms and a speed of 150-160kts.

'He did all the right things, had all the right equipment, and did everything he could to help save himself - when his solo trip circumnavigating New Zealand turned to potential disaster.'

Maritime NZ was not able to name the sailor or the vessel when called by Sail-World.com. However, they did confirm that winds were about 10-15kts, and the sailor was very comfortable in his life-raft while he was communicating with his wife from the liferaft.

The 25tonne yacht sunk quickly around 6 am, but the 48-year-old yachtsman from Helensville was able to get safely onto his liferaft.

Maritime NZ told Sail-World that the sailor was on a circumnavigation around New Zealand, having left Auckland, sailed to Stewart Island, and was planning on visiting the Three Kings before heading back to Whangarei.

His location beacon was registered and was activated at 5.30am according to Maritime NZ, who immediately tasked the helicopter which has a speed of 150-160kts and would have been with the sailor with an hour of departure from Whangarei.

Due to the beacon being registered, Maritime NZ was able to identify the vessel and its characteristics. Otherwise, they would have just received a signal, and their response would have just sent a plane or vessel to have a look in the area.

In this instance, there were ships in the area, but the nearest was three hours sailing time from the liferaft, others were six hours distant.

It is believed that the sailor was using a DeLorme inReach satellite communication device which allows communication with the International Emergency Rescue Communications Centre in Texas as well as being able to communicate with mobile phones ashore by text message.

'In this case, he just sent his wife a message saying that the yacht was holed and had sunk, He was in no immediate danger. The forecast was good. He was in the liferaft with the dinghy,' said a Maritime NZ spokesman.

A report on NZ news website stuff.co.nz said there was a loud bang, then water started pouring into a yacht off the Northland coast early on Saturday morning.

Stuff reports that helicopter pilot Dean Voelkerling said the yachtsman was uninjured, 'just a bit damp'. There was a typical 1.5 to 2-metre swell, and the rescue went smoothly.

He wasn't sure why the yacht started taking on water. 'There was just a loud bang and lots of water and a bit of scurrying around,' Voelkerling said.

'He (the yachtsman) spent sometime trying to fill the hole full of sheets and blankets and stuff like that but he just got overwhelmed with water.'

The helicopter picked up the sailor's rescue beacon signal about 15 minutes before reaching his location. 'We just tracked in on that.'

A St John paramedic was first lowered onto the liferaft, then the sailor, with some personal belongings he had retrieved, and the paramedic were taken on board the helicopter.