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Two rescued from disabled yacht

NZPA

Last updated 14:18 07/06/2010

 

Two people were this morning plucked to safety after their yacht lost its mast off the coast of Northland.

The rescue operation to save the two Dutch nationals, a man and a woman aged in their late 60s, began at about last night.

Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) received an alert from the Matahari's 406MHz emergency beacon, 60 nautical miles east of Ahipara, off Ninety Mile Beach.

The 14 metre yacht was on its way to Vanuatu after setting sail from Nelson on June 2, but they couple sent a maritime radio message to RCCNZ at about 4pm yesterday that they were in difficulty with a broken mast and headed for shelter in Manukau Harbour.

RCCNZ search and rescue officer John Dixon said a fixed wing aircraft from Hamilton found the yacht at about 1.30am today, and made contact with the two people on board. The cargo ship Maersk Aberdeen en route to Melbourne was diverted.

The Auckland-based Westpac rescue helicopter flew to the yacht this morning, accompanied by a fixed wing aircraft, and winched the couple to safety.

They were found to have suffered moderate injuries and were attended by ambulance staff at the helicopter base in Auckland.

Mr Dixon said the incident showed how important it was for yachts to have the right gear on board.

"Thanks to the vessel being well equipped with an emergency beacon and VHF radio, we were able to launch a rescue mission and quickly reach the couple," he said.

Mr Dixon warned boaties to exercise particular care in the severe weather conditions being experienced around the country.

He said a coastal navigation warning would be issued to alert vessels to the disabled yacht adrift off Northland.

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I assume thats 60 miles west and not east. Not sure how bad the weather is but wouldn't you be able to hang 60 miles off the coast until it blows over? They were heading overseas so should have plenty of supplies to last weeks out there. Something I don't think I'll ever understand is how easy it seems to be to get rescued. Of course, if they were too injured to do anything about the situation, it may be different.

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Getting rescued isn't so easy. Getting someone to come out to attempt to rescue you is. :wink: With the current weather patterns, i am surprised anyone would attemp to run up to the Islands now. And taking 5 days to get from Nelson to Northland probably highlights that.

I don't know what the seastate is out there at the mo, but it must be horrendous. Losing a Mast and then having to sit out what is out there would not be fun. And it's front after front at the moment.

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There has been a fair bit of discussion round here about the economics of bringing boats in from overseas but I wonder if anyone has looked closer to home and the two or three offshore-ready boats a year that are left floating off the Northland coast.

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Not to be pointed about it but today's Herald has a different summary of the state of the injuries:

The couple were taken to Auckland City Hospital to be treated for minor neck and head injuries.

A spokesman last night said they were "just in for observation".

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Yes

I think he made that comment as he was rushing out the door in a hurry for somewhere. :wink:

Squid! that little green machine of yours maynot be the best choice to go out into that stuff with. Can anyone help him with a bigger boat?? I'd be happy to pick you up at the warf, but somehow I think we would be in the Islands by the time we catch up from way down here. :D

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I guess theres always going to be discussion when someone gets rescued and you don't know the circumstances unless you're there, but I always thought if you plan to head overseas there must be a plan B if the weather turns bad or if something breaks. The other side of the arguement is if plan B turns to plan C and makes rescue too dangerous to carry out. In my view, being scared and being in real danger are 2 different things. Its just hard to tell the difference sometimes.

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Still at the end of the day, they thought they were in strife, they did the right thing and the result was very good, Too many in the past have perhaps been braver than they actually were, and the rescue either did not come or came too late. Sounds like it would not have been very nice out there getting tossed around with no stick, It would have been a long night and that helicopter would have been a glorious sight I am sure.

 

Seems like they were prepared and had some clues as to what to do, I am sure that many others in the past have not, cowboys just don't ride horses, there are also many who sail.

 

I would rather have our Coast Guard/ Navy etc looking for someone that has at least had some preparation than going after the twits who are ill prepared and just sail on off, expecting we will come get them should they fail.

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Saw this boat washed up on 90 Mile beach on Saturday midday on the way up country. It was sitting in someones backyard later that afternoon when we headed back down. Hull, rudder, keel appeared to be all fine from a distance. The main damange appeared to be at deck level with the arch, rails, covers all in a state and ofcause - no mast.

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Certainly repairable. If she remained dry internally, she will be a stunning craft. But I think she may be a little steep in price, even if he came down to 100K. If you replace the Rig with new, wave goodbye to 50K right there.

I just can not imagine abandoning something as beautiful as that, unless you had lost all motive power, had no show of rigging anything and was on a Lee shore.

 

Can someone tell me....what hapens in a case like this if the couple had insurance and they abandon and the vessel is salvaged like this case. Who actually has legal ownership?

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Insurance Co has ownership. Although it is unlikely they have been paid out this quick? Then they might come to an agreement to part pay and hand back the yacht to the couple?

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I am aware of the law of Slavage, but just wondering how messy this could get for the one that salvages and then Sells onward the boat, and for the Person that buys the boat. There maybe a Salvage right to the Salvager, but I imagine some insuarnce companies may still want to swing some weight around.

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