Yacht "lipped over”

Press, 5 July 1977, Page 6

Yacht "lipped over”

PA Gisborne I The solo yachtsman, John. Mansell, of Plimmerton, ex-i perienced the most terrifying! moments of his yachting' career when his yacht over-! turned in heavy seas about; 30km out from Gisborne yes-! terday. The Cook Strait ferry cap-! tain has a broken kneecap, i “The boat had gone over' on her side about four times.” Mr Mansell said.' “.Although 1 was sent flying/ I was in the cabin and in no danger of going overboard.[ But when we went right over i I was in the cockpit and I! thought my last moments; had come.” He had been trying to sail; down-wind but it had been tough going. Then the yacht! had seemed to trip. "The boat went down and; ploughed under. The stern ; came right up and the boat| flipped right over,” said Mr Mansell. “But with three tons of, lead in the keel she came up j fast." he said. ■‘One moment I was right! under water and the next II had been flipped back up andi was hanging in mid-air from; the back stay. I dropped j about six feet into the cock- 1 pit It really jabbed me andi it could have been then that; I damaged my knee.” An air search began to find the 9m cutter after a Mayday; call from Captain Mansell! about 10 a.m. yesterday. j, An Orion aircraft had been i

called in, but the pilot of a I DC3 topdressing plane spotted the yacht at 12.30 [ p.m. about 25km east of Gis-I borne. i The 34m trawler, Janet D., (skippered by Mr Madsen, left' (Gisborne at 11.30 a.m., and (reached the yacht about 1.45 p.m. Captain Mansell was in an ambulance bound for the. Cook Hospital shortly before' 5 p.m. His yacht, Innovator of i Mana, had lost its self-1 steering gear and its engine; had failed, but otherwise it| had withstood the force of i

Ithe lOOkm/h (60m.p.h.) gale! ;j reasonably well. i Captain Mansell said that I [he had experienced plenty of i [rough seas on his recent I J transatlantic crossing but| '“never anything as bad as I 11 this.” >[ Because of the rough seas land Captain Mansell’s injury j|he was not transferred on to the trawler until they reached the Gisborne Harbour Basin. 'The young Gisborne life [guard, Glen Sutton, swam] 1100 m from the trawler to the J ;[yacht and fastened a line for i the 25km tow to Gisborne. I