Wellington-bound Aussie sailors all at sea in Westport

An investigation is pending over how a boatload of Australians heading for Wellington ended up in Westport Harbour.

Four adults and two children, none of whom had ever left Australia before, sailed from Hobart for Wellington on Monday last week on board their 16m fishing boat, West Wind.

They turned up at the entrance to Westport Harbour on Monday night and were taken in to Westport wharf yesterday morning. Their boat was not damaged.

"They let off a distress rocket at 8.05pm ... but it was too rough to cross the bar, so we got them to anchor and went down at 6 [yesterday morning] and brought them in alongside," harbourmaster David Barnes said.

Two people on board had minor injuries.

The West Wind's electronic navigational equipment had been damaged by two days of bad weather and fierce seas.

Mr Barnes said it was concerning that the crew had no idea of their whereabouts.

"They didn't know where they were. They thought they were in the Marlborough Sounds. I don't think they even know where Westport is.

"Full marks to the fact that they got here and to have put up a flare - but I'm questioning their use of navigational gear."

Mr Barnes said he had serious concerns about the skipper's navigational abilities.

An incident report would be filed with the Maritime Safety Authority.

Mr Barnes said the Tasman Sea was dangerous - on a par with the North Sea - and only skilled sailors should attempt to cross it.

But the crew members insisted yesterday that they knew what they were doing.

"It wasn't that rough ... and it was purely because of the children on board that we asked for help - and because your weather conditions were so lousy to us," crew member Jan Bailey said.

She said her husband, Peter, the skipper, had 53 years' experience.

They had left Hobart on March 24, and were on schedule, if not on target, for their arrival in New Zealand.

Mrs Bailey said they experiences 9m swells as they left Hobart, but they had never considered turning back.

"The forecast was for norwesterlies, which would have suited us. However the forecast was wrong, and our thoughts were wrong. It was an easterly in the end."

The group had wanted to "do something special", having never been out of Australia.

They planned to spend the next few days in Westport, then travel around the South Island by car, before sailing to Wellington.

- NZPA