A distress call that led to a wild goose chase in search of a missing yacht later found safe 150km away, is a reminder to all boaties to have two forms of communication on them while out at sea.
The mishap occurred when Rescue Co-ordination Centre NZ received a mayday call from a yacht believed to be sinking on the Coromandel coast on February 17.
With radio silence from the skipper and night falling, two rescue helicopters, a Coastguard vessel and HMNZS Te Kaha were deployed to find the missing yacht, called Tribe.
The search led to Tribe being located in Bream Bay about 4 nautical miles (7km) south of Whangarei the next day, with both people on board believed to be safe.
Maritime New Zealand spokesman Vince Cholewa said the key message for all boaties to take away from this situation is to always have two waterproof ways to call for help.
On Wednesday evening, in large swells, the skipper radioed on channel 16 that his yacht was taking on water and was sinking, Maritime said.
He gave coordinates as well as he could, using a hand-held VHF radio attached to his clothing, however, after broken communications, he could no longer use his radio or listen to it.
“The skipper did not seem to sufficiently understand the distress channel, VHF channel 16, which is monitored 24/7 by Maritime NZ’s Maritime Radio Service,” Cholewa said.
“He was under high stress, in a very noisy environment, single-handedly struggling to manage his yacht and keep his inexperienced crew member safe in the heavy seas, strong wind, and increasing darkness.
“He did not hear any of the radio messages to him and the broadcasts to all vessels in the search area.”
This led to about 24,700 square kilometres of water being searched, from Waihī/Mayor Island in the south to the Mokohinau Islands north of Great Barrier Island and 70 nautical miles offshore.
A commercial aircraft from the Bay of Plenty, the Auckland Coastguard and the Defence Force also joined the search with the HMNZS Te Kaha deployed.
Meanwhile, the skipper was able to sail north several hours reaching calmer seas. This was about 80 nautical miles (150km) north of where crew were searching.
The Tribe’s skipper has since met with Maritime NZ staff to discuss what happened and what lessons can be learned from the incident.
“The key messages for all boaties are, take two waterproof ways to call for help and if you believe life is in danger you should not hesitate to make a Mayday call – delay can be fatal.”
As well as a hand-held radio, Cholewa recommends having a distress beacon on board, which when activated notifies Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand via a global satellite system. The beacon can be homed onto.
“If you make a Mayday call and the situation changes for the better, then make another radio call to cancel the Mayday. You will be thanked for the cancellation and no one will be critical or angry.
“If you’ve activated a beacon and are no longer in danger, then make sure you leave the beacon on until you are contacted by rescuers.
“If you turn it off, we have the position you were at but no way of knowing if you have moved or what has happened.”
