Tongan reef ends couple's dream cruise

An Auckland couple's dream of cruising the world in their 9m yacht has ended on a remote island near Tonga.

Keith and Bev Agar were rescued by the Tongan Navy yesterday morning after their yacht Tamujin hit a reef. The badly damaged Herreshoff H28 fibreglass yacht remains on the reef, near the north eastern corner of Eua Island, about 20km south-east of the main Tongan Island of Tongatapu.

Rescue authorities and yachting colleagues in New Zealand said there was little if any chance of salvaging it.

The crew sent out a mayday call about 11.30pm on Monday after the Tamujin ran aground.

They told the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington the yacht was badly damaged but they were reluctant to use their liferaft because of steep cliffs and jagged rocks. The rescue centre then lost contact, although the yacht's 406Mhz emergency locator beacon began transmitting and that signal was picked up.

Sailing colleagues said the Agers planned to take Tamujin on a world cruise. Richie Williams, from the H28 Association in Auckland, said Mr Ager was a meticulous sailor who made careful preparations, although the disaster with the reef was not their first ocean drama on the yacht.

He said when they headed north recently, they hit a storm which gave them "a pretty rough sort of a ride".

Mr Williams said Mr Ager had recently upgraded the yacht to a full category one classification which was required for all New Zealand boats leaving the country.

Meanwhile, an Air Force Orion has failed to find any sign of two fishermen two days overdue from a fishing trip near the Kao islands.

- NZPA