Update posted 21 July 2010 from Fred, in Doha, Qatar.

I have seen this yacht advertised for sale on www.trademe.co.nz today (17 July 2010) – with a remark “salvaged from the beach”.

Original Report posted 10 June 2010

As reported on Sail-World.com

The marine threat from abandoned Dutch yacht in South Pacific

Wed, 9 Jun 2010

Sailors in waters off New Zealand will need to be aware of a floating dismasted yacht after two Dutch sailors were winched off their boat this week.

There is an emergency beacon attached to the yacht and New Zealand authorities were tracking it.

Seas were wild when the couple, who were on their way to Vanuatu, called a Pan-pan after their yacht lost power and steering after being dismasted

The Dutch couple on their way to Vanuatu when they had to be winched to safety. Conditions were fine when the couple set sail four days previously. They were sailing their 14metre yacht Matahari, which they had built themselves.

“They said they had demasted in heavy seas,” a Westpac rescue helicopter crewman, who preferred not to be named, told the New Zealand Herald. “The wind was a heavy westerly, about 35 knots, with swells up to six metres.”

He said the vessel was dead in the water about 90km from Herekino Harbour near the top of the North Island. “It had been smashed by heavy seas with no power or steering.”

The couple, whose English is limited, was “pretty distraught” and desperate to get their belongings off the yacht, the Westpac crewman said, but they were restricted to one item each and chose a laptop and large handbag. “That was their entire life on that boat.”

The crewman said the vessel was still afloat, with an emergency beacon attached to the steering wheel. “It potentially poses a marine threat so that target will be tracked,” he said.

The couple were taken to Auckland City Hospital to be treated for minor neck and head injuries, but a hospital spokesman last night said they were “just in for observation”.

A spokesman for the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington, John Dixon, said the incident showed how important it was for yachts to have correct gear on board. “Thanks to the vessel being equipped with an emergency beacon and VHF radio, we were able to launch a rescue mission and quickly reach the couple.”

by Sail-World Cruising