Two rescued from stricken yacht

MEDIA RELEASE Date: Tuesday 14 June 2005

Time: 11.20am

Two rescued from stricken yacht

Two people, including a New Zealander, were rescued at 10am this morning from the capsized yacht Ciru which was adrift overnight in heavy seas south of Fiji.

The crew are in good health and on board the container ship Baltimar Boreas which is due to arrive in Auckland on Friday.

An urgent rescue got under way last night for the pair, after the Maritime Safety Authority communications centre received a radio distress broadcast.

Rescue Coordination Centre NZ mission coordinator Dave Wilson says an Airforce Orion found Ciru at 1.15am, aided by distress flares being fired from the yacht.
The Orion waited until daylight to drop packages of emergency equipment to the vessel.

“It’s a fantastic outcome. This is the fourth successful rescue in four days in the South Pacific, and in total seven people have been rescued which is simply outstanding,” he said.

Other rescues during the last few days

At about 5am this morning, two Canadians were rescued from their yacht Scot Free after they got into difficulty halfway between New Zealand and Tonga. The rescue ship, Capitaine Wallis, with the couple on board, is due to arrive in Auckland on 16 June.

On Sunday, two female crew were rescued from their yacht Bird of Passage which had lost its mast in storms south of Tonga.

On Saturday, an exhausted solo yachtie was rescued by a container vessel after he had to abandon his yacht Gypsy Rose III 450 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand.

ENDS

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