Couple abandon boat in rough seas off Fiordland

Puysegur Point lighthouse at the entrance to Preservation Inlet in Fiordland. File photo / Jim Eagles

A couple were forced to spend a "tough" night out in the open after abandoning their boat in rough seas off southern Fiordland last night.

The pair, believed to be from Otago, made a distress call about 7.15pm after their nine-metre former fishing boat lost power in five-metre swells and 36km/h winds off Puysegur Point, about 200km south of Milford Sound.

The pair mistakenly thought they were drifting near St Anne Point, a rocky outcrop at the entrance to Milford Sound, Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) spokeswoman Sophie Hazelhurst said.

After initial searches near Milford Sound failed, the pair set off a rescue beacon about 9.30pm and it became clear they were near Puysegur Point, Ms Hazelhurst said.

At 11.30pm, a Southern Lakes helicopter located the couple who were forced to abandon their vessel with the woman spending a cold night on the rocks, and the man making it to a nearby beach.

Poor weather meant a rescue could not be carried out last night and the pair were picked up by helicopter about 5am, after weather cleared.

The pair were "well" and taken to a lodge in Fiordland to recover.

Their vessel was thought to be intact and aground.

RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Ramon Davis said the rescue showed the importance of carrying good communications equipment which "may have saved their lives".

"If these people had not been carrying an emergency locator beacon we would not have known where to look for them - as they were well away (from) where the original reports put them," Mr Davis said.

The case also showed the importance of having the right navigational equipment and knowing how to use it, he said.

- NZPA