TUAKANA

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Tug saved single hand sailor

The 'Tuakana' rescued a yacht off Queen Charlotte Sound on her return to New Plymouth after a month spent in drydock at Lyttelton Port for a five-yearly refurbishment and inspection. In the evening of Dec 18, 2021, five nautical miles north of Queen Charlotte Sound, at the tip of the South Island, the tug with five crew members on board anchored at Ship Cove during bad weather when they overheard a call for help. A sole sailor was in trouble on an eight-metre yacht about 10 nautical miles away in open water. The engine had broken down and the vessel was taking on water. Only one other vessel responded, and it was two hours further away than Tuakana, so the crew quickly made the decision to motor towards the vessel. It took the 'Tuakana' about an hour to reach the yacht, where they found the 68-year-old sailor sunburnt, covered in oil and unable to keep up with the water coming onboard. There was about 200 ml throughout the vessel. The engine was broken down, and although the mainsail was up, it wasn’t doing anything in a 30 knot westerly. The yacht was likely to have been blown across the top of the South Island towards Mana or Kapiti. After tying a rope to the yacht, the tug began towing it back to Ship Cove. After about 15 minutes under tow the radio also stopped working, so with the amount of water the yacht was taking on, no engine, and no radio, had it not been for the Tuakana. The sailor was delivered to shore and his stricken yacht was beached. He had just bought the yacht, sight unseen, off a mooring. Report with photo: https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/300485476/taranaki-tug-comes-to-the-rescue-of-lone-sailor