Stolen yacht drama in Sydney

Carol and Steve Holland's yacht Harlech has turned up off Sydney after it was spotted from an apartment balcony.

When Steve and Carol Holland went to their yacht at Opua on Waitangi Day for a quiet weekend sailing, they didn't expect they would soon be entwined in an international manhunt involving fugitives.

The Holland's yacht Harlech was stolen in the days before they went up to go sailing and the drama ended when the $150,000 vessel was found in Sydney with suspected fraudsters Paul James Bennett and Simone Anne Wright on board.

After Harlech's theft, suspicion had turned to Bennett and Wright. Mr Holland told the Northern Advocate yesterday it was amazing that the yacht had been found so quickly, thanks mainly to the international yachting fraternity and social media.

Within hours of the theft being discovered, photographs and details of the Harlech started appearing on websites around the Pacific.

Felix Fielding, 19, a student from Auckland on a working holiday in Sydney, spotted the yacht from a friend's balcony in Avoca Beach, on Monday night.

Mr Holland said he was in contact with Mr Fielding about 9.30pm on Monday and within minutes of seeing a photo the man had taken, he confirmed it was his missing yacht.

"Something just triggered in my mind that I'd seen that boat before, then I found out online that it had been stolen and might have been sailed up to Australia," Mr Fielding told NZME. News Service.

He and a friend drove down the coast following the yacht and reporting its location to police, who took his sighting "very seriously," he said.

"We stopped at the high points in each bay and phoned police each time to tell them we'd seen it."

Mr Holland said armed officers trailed the yacht before boarding it at Cowan Creek, north of Sydney, and detaining Bennett and Wright.

The Harlech was towed to Broken Bay with a broken forestay and damaged sails.

"It's pretty amazing that it was tracked down and the response from everybody has been fantastic. We're quite humbled by it to be honest, but that's the beauty of social media now, there are all these extra eyes and ears out there and you can't get away with stealing a distinctive yacht like ours without somebody spotting it," he said.

The couple were now the focus of much media attention, with at least two TV crews visiting their home yesterday to film them. Mr Holland said he could understand all the fuss.

"Even if it didn't involve us we'd be interested in it. It has everything, drama, fleeing fugitives, theft, fraud, an international escape, and he (Bennett) is a seriously bad character," he said.

Mr Holland said it was now up to the couple's insurance company to decide what happened to the yacht.

"They may bring it back or say the cost of repairs and bringing it back are more than it's covered for so we really don't know what's going to happen to her yet," he said.

Bennett and Wright had been on the run for some time over allegations of fraud and a sex attack on a teenage girl in Auckland. Picton businessman Mike Jacomb put up a $50,000 bounty on the pair after he claimed that they had fleeced his company of $250,000.

Mr Jacomb said the $50,000 reward would be split between a number of parties who assisted in the search, but said paying Mr Fielding was a "high priority".

Paul James Bennett appeared in court in Sydney yesterday and was remanded in custody after entering no plea to a charge of receiving stolen goods.