Island Time 1,239 Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 70-year-old solo sailor rescued after head injury1 December 2015 A 70-year-old solo sailor has been rescued from his 10m yacht 20 km off the Wairarapa coast after being struck on the head by the vessel’s boom.The man, sailing from Auckland to Picton, made a mayday call shortly before 11am, and the Rescue Coordination Centre NZ managed the rescue operation. The fishing vessel Otakou responded immediately and with its rescue boat brought the sailor on board.The Westpac Rescue helicopter from Wellington flew to the scene and lowered a paramedic and a Maritime Police officer with sailing experience on to the fishing vessel.The injured man was winched to safety at around 1pm and flown to Wellington Hospital.With help from the Otakou crew, the Maritime Police officer boarded the yacht Solaise and is sailing her to rendezvous later this afternoon with the Police launch Lady Elizabeth IV, which will tow the vessel to Wellington.RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Chris Wilson said the injured man was well prepared for the voyage.“He contacted us before leaving Auckland to advise of the trip and was making regular reports to Maritime Radio to update his position,” she said. “He’s done all the right things and that’s been very helpful in getting assistance to him.“The prompt actions of the Otakou crew in retrieving the man from his yacht and communicating with the helicopter made the winch operation safer.“The helicopter crew have done a great job in getting people on board and having a Maritime Police staff member with sailing experience available to be part of the operation means the man will also have his yacht waiting for him when he recovers.” _____________________________________ I'd like to say great job - nice to see the boat recovered as well !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erice 732 Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 nice of them to sail the boat in! Sail Number: 4662 Designer : John Lidgard Region: Auckland Class: Demon 10 Boat Type: Keelboat Owner name: AL http://crew.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic/9652-can-anyone-here-put-me-in-touch-with-the-owners-of-solaise/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkMT 68 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Some details... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11556065 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin McCready 83 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The best sailor I ever sailed with told me he always clipped on when alone. It's sooooo easy to come to grief with just a slight moment's inattention, or even by accident. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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