Sinking sailor gave 111 wrong wreck location

The hull was punctured with holes after striking rocks near Sentinel Rock at the entrance to Mangawhai Harbour. Photo / Michael Cunningham

As Gary Somner clung to the side of his dinghy in the darkness, rescuers were frantically searching for him 40km away after he told them his yacht had crashed on rocks at the entrance to Whangarei Harbour.

But the 63-year-old Whangarei man was drifting offshore from Mangawhai Harbour entrance after his 29ft (8.8m) yacht, which was to be his home, hit rocks just after midnight yesterday. He rang 111 and told police he was off Whangarei Harbour, but was forced to abandon ship, as the vessel was being strongly tossed about in surf near Sentinel Rock, at Mangawhai. Based on his initial call, the Whangarei Coastguard, Marsden Point Oil Refinery rescue boat and police began searching in Whangarei Harbour.

Gary Somner admits he was ill-prepared for the trip.

"I was 100 per cent convinced I was turning into Whangarei Harbour. I was following beacons I understood were in Whangarei Harbour.

"Unfortunately, I was in the wrong harbour and the beacon I was watching was on rocks," Mr Somner told the Northern Advocate after being released from hospital.

"I was being tossed all over the place. I was sunburnt, dehydrated and disoriented. I decided I had to get off and into the dinghy."

He tried to pull the yacht off the rocks but, after falling in, abandoned the salvage operation. The dinghy ran out of fuel and he was at the mercy of the currents and winds. He kept in touch with his rescuers, but lost his phone when he fell in the water again and his toes touched sand.

"I realised there was a sand bank there that did not belong to Whangarei Harbour and I had to admit I didn't know where I was."

When search teams failed to find him, after scouring Whangarei Harbour for more than three hours, volunteers from the Ruakaka, Waipu Cove and Mangawhai Heads surf lifesaving clubs were directed to search the shore in their areas. Meanwhile, Mr Somner dragged himself aboard the dinghy and frantically tried to paddle ashore using his jandals, but failed to make progress.

"I just lay in the bottom of the dinghy exhausted."

He saw search lights about 4.30am. His rescuers, Mangawhai lifeguards Mark Vercoe and Murray Dix, hauled him aboard and wrapped him in a jacket before taking him ashore where he was taken by ambulance to Whangarei Hospital and treated for severe hypothermia.

Mr Somner looked at the yacht on Sunday in Auckland, decided to buy it and left at 9am on Monday planning to make a two-day trip to Whangarei. He understood the tanks were full but, a few hours in, they ran dry. He continued under sail. Fifteen hours later, disaster struck.

"I have had enough experience with sailing that I felt comfortable to do this trip but I didn't plan my trip well. It's a good warning to everyone that the sea is unforgiving. As confident as I felt, I ended up in the water hanging on to the dinghy. I thought it was all over. I've learnt a very, very big lesson."

Police Search and Rescue Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe said the incident was preventable and was a warning for boaties to be well prepared.

"It was an idiotic thing to do and he could easily have died. It took a lot of people, resources and hours to find the man who didn't even know where he was and at times wouldn't listen to instructions."

He said boaties needed a couple of forms of communication on board such as a marine radio and a cellphone and enough lifejackets for everyone. The boat was salvaged and towed into Mangawhai Harbour yesterday afternoon.