YACHT CAPSIZED BY SUDDEN SQUALL

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 91, 11 January 1935, Page 11

YACHT CAPSIZED BY SUDDEN SQUALL

Occupants’ Narrow Escape

ORDEAL IN WATER BEFORE RESCUE Dominion Special Service. Auckland, January 10. Struck by a sudden gust’of wind about three miles off Rothesay Bay, a Wakatere class yacht capsized and the three occupants, two men and a boy, were forced to cling to the upturned boat for over an hour before assistance arrived. It was only through good fortune that their plight was noticed, and an outboard boat was sent out from Mairangi Bay four miles away to rescue them.

The owner of the small yacht was Mr. W. Mitchell, of Mairangi Bay, and he had with him his son, Ray, aged 11. and his brother-in-law, Mr. W. Boon. 'They had set out in the morning on a fishing expedition and were just preparing to return when they saw a strong blow approaching. In luffing hurriedly they failed to trim the ship, and she capsized. The lad was put on the keel, but the two men had to remain in the water clinging to the hull. “It was a good job that the capsize of the yacht was noticed,” said Mr. A. Pond, whose boat came to the rescue. “When we arrived one of the men was in a bad state of exhaustion, and I do not think he could have held on very much longer.” The same squall of wind which struck the yacht was noticed in Mairangi Bay itself, and was compared by some residents to a small whirlwind. In one yard several clothes were torn from the line by the force of the gust.