KEY POINTS:
Ten French sailors plucked to safety from their capsized yacht off the Otago coast on Tuesday were back on the water last night as they began a mission to recover their vessel.
The crew, who were taking part in the Jules Verne round-the-world yacht race, were rescued uninjured when their craft overturned in heavy seas 145km off the coast.
Three rescue helicopters winched the crew off the hull of the Groupama III and flew them to Dunedin.
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre launched a rescue mission after its equivalent in France picked up a signal from the yacht's emergency beacon.
Head of Search and Rescue at Dunedin police, Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, said the sailors had been busy yesterday finding a boat and organising the salvage mission.
"They will sail out overnight and hope to be at the trimaran tomorrow morning, then flip it over and do the recovery and probably drag it back to Christchurch, which is a bigger port, then ship it back to France."
Mr Benn said the crew had spent the day getting all the equipment needed for the recovery, as well as safety items such as a satellite phone.
The sailors had been well looked after during their stay in Dunedin and spent Tuesday night celebrating and reliving the day's adventures. The French Embassy thanked New Zealand rescue services.
"Thanks to the efficient action of the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre who sent out helicopters to winch up the sailors, they were brought to safety onshore and no one suffered any injuries," spokeswoman Annie Van Herck said.
"Our thanks also go to the St John Ambulance staff and to all those who welcomed them and helped with their accommodation and well-being."
Rescue mission co-ordinator Keith Allen said the incident highlighted the value of people carrying the emergency beacon, which had greatly helped in the rescue.
Groupama III, a futuristic-looking single-masted trimaran skippered by Frenchman Franck Cammas, left the English Channel on its bid for the Jules Verne Trophy 25 days ago. The trimaran is 32m long, with a beam of 22.55m.
The record for the round-world race, inspired by Verne's classic Around the World in Eighty Days, is 50 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes and four seconds.
- NZPA
