Two Aussies were among a crew of four sailors forced to abandon a sinking yacht and spend hours stranded at sea after the vessel reportedly struck a whale.
The crew, which included a New Zealander and a French national, were aboard the Australian-flagged yacht Tai Tam when it collided with the large mammal about 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island on Saturday.
Maritime New Zealand said the sailors then abandoned the yacht, boarded a life raft and waited several hours to be rescued.
They were finally pulled to safety at 6am on Sunday by the crew of the 143-metre cargo ship MV Sofrana Surville after a ‘well coordinated’ rescue operation by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ).
Pictures released by Maritime New Zealand show two rescuers in a rescue boat alongside the sailors’ life raft.
The crew were later seen being transferred to the MV Sofrana Surville, taking them to the nearest port to disembark.
RCCNZ operations manager Mike Clulow, whose centre received the distress call at about 1pm on Saturday, said the 15.5-metre vessel was sailing in difficult conditions.
‘[The yacht] was taking on water and began sinking after reporting it had struck a whale,’ he said.
Two Aussies were among four sailors forced to abandon a sinking yacht and spend hours stranded at sea after the vessel reportedly struck a whale in the Pacific Ocean
Pictures released by Maritime New Zealand show two rescuers in a rescue boat alongside the sailors’ life raft
The crew were later seen transferred to the MV Sofrana Surville, taking them to the nearest port to disembark
‘It was experiencing seas of up to two metres and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was tasked with assisting.
‘The four sailors on the vessel had to abandon ship and spent several hours in a life raft before being rescued around 6am [on Sunday].’
Mr Clulow praised the sailors for doing the right thing by activating an emergency distress beacon when they did.
‘The crew of the yacht did all the right things, and it was unfortunate to have struck a whale in open water,’ he said.
‘They were well prepared and the early activation of their EPIRB was key to helping get them to safety.
‘It is an excellent reminder that being prepared when going to sea can save your life’.
