Yachtsman back on land

A solo yachtsman arrived in Suva early yesterday after being rescued from an uninhabited Fijian island he had rowed to on a dinghy from his wrecked boat.

British-Canadian David Seaton was photographed two days earlier waving for help from a beach on Nukulotu Islet by a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion that responded to his distress signal.

Mr Seaton was picked up by a Fijian naval patrol boat on Monday and taken to Suva, 220km away.

Lieutenant Commander Bradley Bower of the Fijian Navy said the 62-year-old was in good health and was taken to immigration authorities to get his passport stamped before seeking assistance at the British High Commission.

Commander Bower said Mr Seaton was still coming to terms with the loss of his Vancouver-registered yacht, which ran aground on a reef in the Northern Lau group on Sunday.

The RNZAF crew had picked up Mr Seaton's emergency locator beacon while on a routine patrol south-west of Fiji on Sunday and flew 650km to the islet, dropping a radio and confirming that he had food and water.

Commander Bower said the Orion's action had sped up the rescue process by at least 10 hours, but even if Mr Seaton had not had a beacon he would probably have been found by fishermen who regularly camp on the island.

- AAP