KEY POINTS:
Three more boaties have had a lucky escape thanks to a cellphone they were carrying when their 23m yacht sank near the top of the Coromandel Peninsula yesterday.
The men were forced to climb into a dinghy and call for help from a cellphone after their boat collided with something and started taking on water in the Channel Islands, between Coromandel and Great Barrier Island, at about 6.45am.
Coastguard spokeswoman Jo Ottey said communications were lost with the men as they were getting into the dinghy - possibly due to the cellphone running out of battery power.
A relay call was put out to all boaties in the area to help look for the men, who had also managed to grab an electronic positioning beacon from their boat as it was sinking. They were found soon after.
"They were all safe and well, just a bit cold and wet and depressed I would suggest.
"It was a 75ft yacht so somebody will be crying."
The rescue follows a similar one on Wednesday night when two men were plucked to safety after spending 20 minutes clinging to the bow of their upturned boat in the Tamaki Strait.
They had managed to alert authorities on a cellphone which they held above their heads to keep dry.
Ms Ottey said the rescues were a timely reminder of the importance of boaties taking a good, reliable form of communication with them when out on the water.
VHF radios were preferable because any call for help that was made across the airwaves would be heard by all boaties listening to the frequency and that increased the chance of someone nearby being able to go to the rescue quickly.
A cellphone was a good second option but the phone should be kept in a waterproof ziplock bag in case it ended up in the water.
The phone should also have plenty of battery power.
Yesterday's rescue was just the start of another busy day for the Coastguard, which has already responded to more than 85 incidents in the first four days of the year.
Just after lunchtime, a Coastguard boat was dispatched to a medical call for help after a man fell 5m on to the rocks at Kawakawa Bay.
He was found lying by the water's edge unconscious and with head injuries.
Ms Ottey said he was transported by Coastguard to an ambulance.
A St John spokesman said the man was treated at the scene for serious injuries before being flown to Middlemore Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
Safety Measures
Coastguard prefers boaties to have a VHF radio and for it to be kept on the emergency channel 16 when out on the water.
Take a cellphone as a backup. Keep it in a ziplock/waterproof bag and make sure it has a spare fully charged battery if going away for more than a day. For a free ziplock bag contact Maritime NZ.
