Crippled boat towed to safety

The two men had mechanical failure while battling two metre swells. Photo / Doug Sherring

A man who hadn't slept properly for three days has been rescued from choppy seas in the Hauraki Gulf.

The man and his friend, both in their 40s, left Whitianga on their 11.5m yacht on Thursday to sail to Herald Island in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour.

But the yacht suffered mechanical failure off Colville on the Coromandel Peninsula in 2m-plus swells.

Coastguard duty manager Ray Burge said the man contacted them at 11.30am yesterday.

He was disoriented and said he'd slept only seven hours in three days.

A rescue vessel was sent from Rangitoto around 4.30pm and the men and their yacht were towed from Spray Rock on the northern side of Waiheke to the Tamaki River.

Another four people were rescued by the coastguard in Manukau Harbour after their P-class yachts got into trouble near Laingholm.