Lone sailor survives after yacht and ship collide

12.00pm

A shipwrecked Swedish sailor was trembling with cold and probably had only two or three hours to live when he was plucked from his waterlogged liferaft in a dramatic rescue off North Cape yesterday.

The sailor's Russian saviour said he had been in the water for two hours after his yacht was run down by a large ship and sank during a storm about 30 nautical miles northeast of North Cape on Saturday night.

Alf Jaselius was sitting up to his waist in freezing water in his liferaft when the Russian merchant ship Mekhanik Kalyozhniy found him in the middle of a storm after being diverted about 26 miles from its course by the National Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington.

The ship's master, Captain Mikhail Sladkov, told NZPA from his ship today they found the sailor within half an hour of arriving at the search area, about two hours after his yacht Mika had been run down by the mystery ship.

He said the tiny liferaft was hard to spot at night in 4m seas.

"There was not enough good visibility but maybe in 30 minutes of searching I found the small flashing light which is usually placed on top of the liferaft."

Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) director Russell Kilvington said the dramatic rescue was a superb piece of seamanship in the stormy conditions but Capt Sladkov said his crew were highly trained and knew exactly what to do.

Capt Sladkov said Mr Jaselius was happy to be rescued but was lucky the Russian ship was so close.

"His liferaft was completely filled with water and he was sitting in the water. The water temperature was about 18 degrees with stormy winds.

"He was trembling, just freezing and I was afraid another three or four hours and he would be in much worse condition, maybe dead," Capt Sladkov said.

The rescued sailor was given a long, hot shower on the Russian ship as it continued to Tauranga.

Mr Kilvington said the sailor had only time to get off a very quick mayday on his VHF radio on channel 16.

He said the sailor was cool and gave a cogent, and accurate latitude and longitude, before taking to his liferaft.

"It was 'mayday, mayday, mayday. This is the Swedish yacht Mika. I have crashed into a big ship. Water is coming into the boat. I am putting liferaft in the water now.' And that was it."

The mayday message was relayed by the MSA Far North radio station and relayed to shipping in the area and within seven minutes, six ships responded, Mr Kilvington said.

The Russian ship was the closest and was sent to the rescue, he said.

One of the vessels that responded was a small yacht which was only three miles downwind of the distressed sailor but it could not turn around in the stormy conditions.

"We just held them there and tasked the Russian ship."

Mr Kilvington said the Russian master showed real skill in the rescue.

"How the hell the Russians got a large merchant ship alongside and got him out ...?

"It was amazing."

Mr Kilvington said the MSA was checking all ships that left New Zealand.

He said the Russian master advised the MSA he had seen another ship on radar moving away from the area but it was possible the ship was unaware of the incident or that the MSA was looking for it.

"This is not a witch-hunt. It is very possible in those circumstances -- pitch black, a howling gale, a 21ft yacht -- you could hit it and the impact would be most unlikely to be noticed."

He said the inquiry would also focus on whether there was any radio contact between the ship and the yacht.

He said one puzzle was why the ship did not respond to the mayday relay re-broadcast as soon as the mayday signal was heard from the yacht.

"In these days of automated alerts and alarms, there is no excuse for it at all."

He said it was not known if the yacht carried a radar reflector on its mast.

If it was a wooden yacht it would be almost impossible to spot by radar in the storm, he said.

The Swedish consulate in Auckland said Mika was a 28-foot yacht and not 21-foot as earlier believed. The Laurin 28 design was a strong and seaworthy yacht, said Catharina Andersson, of the Swedish consulate in Auckland.

She said Mr Jaselius was a competent sailor but was lucky to be alive.

Ms Andersson said the consulate was doing all it could for the rescued sailor.

Mr Jaselius was taken to a doctor today for treatment for a burned hand. After the collision, he lit a distress flare but had to hold it in his hand and was burned.

She did not know if the yacht was insured but Mr Jaselius had told her he would probably stay in New Zealand for the inquiry.

- NZPA

Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/marine