Eight years ago, Aucklander Bob Rimmer, on a yacht called Quartermaster, was caught in the Queen's Birthday storm north of New Zealand. He lost his life, along with his wife and son, after running before 110km/h winds for almost two days.
A copy of the tape from Kerikeri Radio contains his last words.
After several knockdowns, during which his wife was badly injured and water began filling the boat through damaged windows, Rimmer asked, "What can I do?"
The radio operator replied, "Continue running or heave to".
The yachtsman did not know how to get his boat to lie hove-to, so he answered, "I guess I'll just have to keep running".
Those were his last words and since hearing them on the Kerikeri tape, blue water sailors Larry and Lin Pardey have had a mission: to show others going offshore how to carry out a lifesaving exercise in seamanship. The result is Storm Tactics, now available on video and DVD.
A boatie's tragic last words
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