KEY POINTS:
A sailor rescued yesterday while battling his way to shore in a damaged liferaft, said his hopes sunk when he saw the rescue helicopter fly away.
Blondie Chamberlain, 58, was sailing from New Plymouth to Whangaroa Harbour in the Far North when his boat Gypsy Rose hit rocks and sank while on auto pilot.
A mayday call sent by Mr Chamberlain off Karikari Peninsula was picked up by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre, sparking a rescue mission about 2.45am.
Mr Chamberlain told NZPA he spent two hours on the liferaft fighting to save his life while he waited to be rescued.
"Now I know when the mayday call went through, I know it was two hours - it felt like longer."
A team on the Northland Electricity Rescue helicopter used night-vision goggles to scan the coast near the Moturoa Islands.
Pilot Pete Turnball said five metres of mast with a shredded piece of sail still attached were spotted poking out of boiling surf on a reef.
Mr Chamberlain said it was "pretty neat" when he saw the helicopter, but he was less happy when it flew away again not to return for another 10 minutes, or so.
"They had seen the yacht's mast ... it was a bit demoralising when they went away again," he said.
A faint light was detected using the goggles and as the helicopter moved closer the crew found the sailor in his liferaft close to rocks, with waves pounding against a steep cliff.
A rescuer was lowered by winch and the yachtie was hoisted to safety from the rocks off Moturoa Islands, northwest of Cape Karikari, and flown to Whangarei Hospital where he was treated for scratches and mild hypothermia.
"He was very lucky as his boat went down pretty quickly and the liferaft ended up with the floor torn and the canopy ripped off," Mr Turnball said.
"There was a lot of sea mist around and the goggles were the only way we could find him."
Mr Chamberlain flew back to New Plymouth yesterday while his 11.5-metre ferro-cement yacht remained submerged on the reef.
- NZPA
