Heart pair airlifted from ferry in serious condition

Two passengers with heart conditions had to be lifted by rescue helicopter from the Fullers Superflight catamaran during a railway enthusiasts' trip down the Northland coast at the weekend.

A 57-year-old Auckland man and a 59-year-old from Whakatane were winched from the catamaran by the Northland Electricity helicopter off Bream Head and flown to Whangarei Hospital in serious condition.

They were part of an 880-strong Auckland Railway Enthusiasts Society group travelling by train and boat between Auckland and Opua on Saturday. Half the group left Auckland by sea on the Superflight and sailed to Opua in the Bay of Islands before being bussed down to Whangarei for the rail trip back to Auckland.

The other 440-strong group left Auckland by train, bussed to Opua and boarded the catamaran for the voyage back to Auckland.

St John Northland operations manager Donna Austin, who was on the rescue helicopter, said both men had cardiac conditions that had been exacerbated by the swells and began causing them problems.

Once flown to hospital and stabilised, their conditions had improved rapidly, Ms Austin said.

She described the winching operation from the Superflight as "pretty straightforward".

"There were 2m swells but they didn't cause us problems. The crew and the captain were very helpful."

An Aucklander on the catamaran, who did not want to be named, said about half the 440 passengers on the southbound leg of the trip were vomiting soon after the vessel left Opua and sailed down the coast in an easterly swell.

Near Whangarei Heads, passengers were told two men were being airlifted off the boat with suspected heart conditions.

She said St John staff on the boat had done an outstanding job.

Fullers operations manager Chris Douglas said the catamaran had been rolling a bit and on-board St John staff decided to call in the helicopter.

He said the company had been doing these trips for 10 years without medical problems.

Trip organiser John Chamberlain said people going on the outing were warned in a brochure that parts of the excursion could be rough and they had to be able to withstand the rigours of a 6 1/2-hour journey.

He had been told both men taken off the catamaran had existing heart conditions and had undergone cardiac treatment in recent months.

Mr Chamberlain said a similar boat-train excursion was planned to Mt Maunganui next month.

But he believed the railway enthusiasts society was going to have to look at saying to those with existing medical conditions that they should not go.