Rescued yachtsmen very weak

Press, 25 May 1984, Page 4

Rescued yachtsmen very weak

PA Auckland The crew of the abandoned yacht, Triomphe, were close to exhaustion yesterday when the Soviet research ship, Grafit, loomed out of the darkness to their rescue. The yacht’s skipper, John Warren, of Matamata, recalled that when the rescue vessel appeared he and his crew were weak from continuous bailing after spending six hours in a liferaft in stormy seas off Northland. “We were strong enough

to climb up the rope ladder to get on board,” Mr Warren said. When he got on board, however, he fell over.

“We had plenty of food and water,” Mr Warren said from the Soviet ship as it steamed towards Mangonui, “but we didn’t need it. We spent most of the time bailing.”

Mr Warren and his crew, Mr Milton Lochhead of Tauranga and Mr Brian Peterson of Putaruru, were bailing when they were spotted by an R.N.Z.A.F. Orion yesterday morning.

Asked for his reaction when the Soviet ship appeared, he said: “It beats a liferaft.” He said that he was too tired to think of anything more and to give a detailed account of the ordeal. He said the crew had abandoned the 12.6-metre yacht about 100 miles west of Ninety Mile Beach on Wednesday night when the vessel “could not make ground at all.” Asked if the yacht was swamped, he replied: “More or less.”

Auckland Radio received a message at 5.10 p.m. that the vessel, which was returning to Tauranga after competing in the Whangarei to Noumea race, was sinking and the crew had taken to a liferaft.

Heavy seas had pounded the yacht throughout the day.

Mr Warren said nothing of any consequence had been taken off the wallowing vessel.

“She was well down in the water. I will be very, very surprised if it has not sunk.”