The Swiss solo yachtsman trying to sail non-stop around the world has been reunited with his yacht, from which he had to be rescued after striking a whale off the coast of New Zealand last week.
Bernt Luchtenborg's 15.84m yacht Horizons was towed to Bluff by a crayfish boat early on Tuesday, after being found in the southeast Tasman sea about 500km off the South Island.
David Bragg, watch-keeper of the crayfish boat, said Mr Luchtenborg was "extremely happy" to see his yacht.
Mr Luchtenborg's wife, Anita, speaking from Lucerne, Switzerland, said she expected him to spend about one or two weeks in Bluff carrying out repairs and waiting for his insurance company's assessment.
A collision with what he thought was a whale early on November 22 ended his second attempt to circumnavigate the globe solo non-stop.
The 56-year-old was five months into his voyage and was rescued by the cruise liner Seven Seas Mariner, about 800km west of Stewart Island, and brought to Port Chalmers, the ship's next port of call.
