Yacht in Distress - Tasman Sea

[tdw]

"A man and a woman have been rescued from a sinking yacht in treacherous conditions off the New South Wales south coast.
Police say the couple, aged 65 and 56, were on their way to Fiji from Sydney when they ran into trouble about 170 nautical miles east of Wollongong.
They set off an emergency beacon at about 3:15pm on Sunday." ABC News



More here.....


Couple rescued from sinking yacht - ABC Sydney - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

[rockDAWG]

Another happy ending

Skipper Dennis Smith says his wife Sarah has made it clear their ocean sailing days are over.

I wonder if Mrs Smith had been hitting her husband with the boat hook until the rescuers arrived.

[Hartley18]

Hmmm.. I wouldn't call that a happy ending.

My guess would be that Mrs Smith's sailing days are over and that Mr Smith will be lucky if Mrs Smith allows him anywhere near a boat again!

[tdw]

Originally Posted by rockDAWG

Another happy ending



I wonder if Mrs Smith had been hitting her husband with the boat hook until the rescuers arrived.

I really want more info. They were supposedly 300km east of Wollongong enroute to Fiji.....check that out on Google Earth.....the Tasman Sea is one of the nastiest stretches of water on the planet. I have no idea which port they sailed out of but SE NSW direct to Fiji is never going to be a good move.

Woud love to know what they were sailing. Probably some old timber clunker....(Hi Hartley, yes I saw you lurking....)

Interview I heard on Sydney radio this AM suggested he was now a harbour sailor, his offshore day's are over.

[ffiill]

My daughters farm looks out over the mouth of the Hokianga Harbour and into the Tasman Sea, Northland,NZ
A wild but beautifull piece of water!
I completely fell in love with it though not been out on it!

[tdw]

Don't know the type and no image files but the boat in question was 13m and built in 1985. The couple concerned had made eight trips to Fiji in recent years so plenty of experience.

The NSW coast is a dodgey place at the best of times. If you are not prepared to wait for your weather you will spend a lot of time motoring or in summer bashing into nor easterly winds with the occasional southerly to liven up your life. Most people would tend to coast hop north and then head out via New Caledonia. Would take a few days longer but you'd avoid the inevitable hiding the Tasman is bound to dish out at some stage on what would presumably be a ten - fifteen day passage.

I guess they figured they had the experience and a well found yacht. Seems like they lost their rudder by the sounds of things.

This is the rescue launch. NSW Water Police...we don't have a Coast Guard as such other than a volunteer CG than do inshore rescue work.