Two men on board a troubled yacht on the Northern coast will be rescued via helicopter after battling rough sea conditions for more than a day.
The Coastguard Northern Region said this afternoon the yacht, which put out a distress call at 6pm yesterday, had issued a distress call asking that they be removed from the vessel.
"With weather conditions still too rough to attempt an on-water rescue and the decision now made by the owner to abandon ship, the Northland Rescue Helicopter is now preparing to winch the two people from the vessel,'' a Coastguard statement said.
A search aircraft is also circling the area in order to locate the stricken yacht.
The men found themselves in trouble after losing their steering and navigation systems while sailing their 12-metre vessel - a Beneteau - between the Bay of Islands and Whangarei.
