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Tug towed stricken yacht with body on board to Whangarei

The yacht "Platino" was towed to Whangarei on June 21 shortly after 9 a.m. by the "Sea Pelican" with Nick Saull's body on board. The father-of-four died after being hit by rigging when the yacht struck bad weather about 550 km north of New Zealand. Another man, 63-year-old Steve Forno, was still missing. Saulls wife was relieved to have her dead husband home.

Tug took yacht with body on board in tow

On June 17 around 1 p.m. the "Sea Pelican" had reached the "Platino" and began towing the yacht back to Auckland. The yacht appeared to be in a reasonable condition after she ran into difficulty 550 kilometres north of New Zealand. Three survivors from the yacht arrived in Auckland in the morning of June 16 on board the container ship "Southern Lily". Another man was dead, with his body on board the stricken vessel. The police could not say what the expected arrival time back to New Zealand would be. Still missing was Steve Forno, a 63-years-old man from Devonport who went over board.

Sea Pelican dispatched to hunt the Platino

The "Sea Pelican" left Whangarei late on June 14, 2016, to locate and attempt to salvage the 20-m-yacht "Platino" which has been abandoned 550 km NE of New Zealand and which still has the body of Nick Saull on board, who was killed when her main boom struck a backstay taking out the rig. At her last position she was making 7.5 kts. The predicted wind conditions in the area were an Easterly wind of 23-27 kts with an 11 ft swell from a southerly direction. Winds were only expected to abate slightly in the next few days, with the wind swinging to a SSE direction, and be more aligned with the swell. The sea state was only expected to drop a couple of feet to 8-10 ft with the wind change, making for a slow tow back, if possible. A maritime officer was on board of the tug. The crew was using coordinates from an emergency beacon on the yacht which will monitor the location of the "Platino". Weather dependent, they could reach the "Platino" by June 18 and have the yacht and body of the person on board back in New Zealand early next week. The three survivors from the "Platino" arrived in Auckland on June 16 at 1 a.m. on the container ship "Southern Lily". The air search for the crew member who was lost overboard clad only in light clothing and without a lifejacke was called off in the afternoon of June 15. Report with photos: http://www.sail-world.com/NZ/Platino-recovery-operation-well-underway-as-crew-arrive-in-Auckland/145608