Yacht beaches off Ruakaka

A Coastguard vessel tries to pull the stricken yacht into deeper water off Ruakaka. Photo / Dan Sloane

Residents watched in disbelief as a yacht came too close to shore and ran aground off Ruakaka.

P. Lee Can, registered in Southport, Australia, lay on its side about 300m south of Ruakaka about 11am on Saturday but its owner managed to get to shore.

Coastguard northern region duty officer Tony Winyard said the vessel ran aground soon after high tide after getting too close to the shoreline.

Volunteer Ruakaka surf lifesavers initially attended to see if they could help out before a Coastguard vessel arrived, he said.

"The only thing required was for the tide to come back in and we helped put the anchor in deep water."

Mr Winyard said an attempt to pull the yacht into deeper waters failed later that day.

Mr Winyard said Coastguard was responsible for saving lives and since the yacht's owner was fine, he would now have to make arrangements to move his yacht. The yacht was still at the beach at edition time yesterday.

Ruakaka resident and experienced ocean sailor Margaret Hicks saw the yacht run aground and described the incident as a "monumental cock-up".

"I saw to my horror the yacht coming too close to shore and I said 'Oh my God, it's going to go aground' and it did.

"Then I saw a crew member trying to row to shore in a dinghy. He should have never come close to shore and should have put out the anchor in deep water," she said.

A fisherman unsuccessfully tried to help the owner start the motor.

"It's very frustrating because no one was able to do the right thing. If people knew what to do when the yacht first touched the bottom, the boat could have been out around 9pm last night [Saturday]," she said.

Ruakaka photographer Dan Sloane saw a Coastguard vessel arrive after 8pm on Saturday and try unsuccessfully to pull the vessel into deeper water.