Rescued Kiwi woman's yacht looted on NSW beach

Luck has run out for a couple rescued from their yacht during a storm, as the boat, which washed up on the NSW coast relatively unscathed, has been looted.

In November last year Auckland woman Tania Davies, 43, and her partner Steve Jones, 52, were saved by Hong Kong-based cargo ship Chengtu after their 11-metre Yacht "Windigo" rolled in 10 metre swells about 700km southwest of Tonga.

The abandoned boat has since drifted about 2000 nautical miles southwest, eventually landing near Coffs Harbour with most of the couple's gear, worth about $60,000, still on board.

That's when their fortunes changed for the worse.

Within a day of landing on the beach the uninsured ship was looted.

Wet weather clothing, the ship's anchor and chain, marine-grade solar panels, cooking equipment and other items were stolen, the ABC reports.

Worse still, it may cost them $100,000 to remove the stranded fibreglass yacht.

And they could be hit with import duty by customs as the yacht is considered a luxury item.

The couple have appealed for the thieves to return the stolen goods. They are also asking for help to raise funds for the salvage operation.

"We've got no money, absolutely nothing," Ms Davies told the ABC.

"We're in a Catch-22 situation. People have stolen everything from our home and now they're telling us they want us to pay to destroy our house."

An amnesty for the return of the goods has been announced by police, who are investigating three people over the looting.