Navy takes on troubled yacht

Two Navy sailors have taken the helm of a yacht in trouble off the northeastern coast of the North Island.

They used a rubber dinghy to board the yacht, the Aladdin Steel, yesterday.

The yacht had sent a search and rescue beacon alert at 7 am and a helicopter was sent out.

It contacted the boat mid-morning as the crew struggled in 56 km/h winds and a two-metre swell. Conditions were unsuitable to winch the pair on board and the Navy survey ship, the HMNZS Resolution, was sent to help.

A National Rescue Co-ordination Centre search co-ordinator, Jim McLean, said the yacht was expected to arrive in the Bay of Islands this morning.

He said the Aladdin Steel's crew, a New Zealand man, and a woman, were exhausted and the yacht did not have functioning self-steering equipment.

Mr McLean said the pair were caught by bad weather, and had possibly been without sleep for two to three days. One had suffered seasickness so the other had to do all the steering.

"I don't know how well prepared they were."

- NZPA