On September 4th a solo yachtsman sailing from Brisbane to New Zealand was plucked from rough seas in a dramatic seven-hour rescue involving four planes and a Danish container ship. As reported by the Brisbane Times.

Published 10 years ago, updated 6 years ago

Read the full report at www.brisbanetimes.com.au

The sailor made a distress call on Thursday morning (4th September) after his 10-metre yacht was damaged in heavy seas.

Four planes and a Danish container ship helped in the man’s rescue, which was coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

A Customs and Border Protection aircraft was the first on the scene, sighting the boat about 1 pm (AEST) on Thursday.

As the mission dragged on, airforce personal flying above the yacht used night-vision goggles to help those on board the container ship Lars Maersk locate and rescue the man.

The yachtsman, who was wearing an immersion suit, was plucked from rough seas at 8 pm on Thursday night about 70 nautical miles north of Lord Howe Island.

A spokesperson for AMSA said the man had set sail from Brisbane on August 29, but his craft was registered to Port Douglas in northern Queensland.

The yachtsman was uninjured. It is expected the man will be transferred ashore by a pilot vessel in coming days when the container ship transits the Great Barrier Reef area.