Two New Zealand sailors have been rescued from a life raft 28km south of Niue after they abandoned their burning yacht early this morning.
The men and their Mexican skipper were on the 15m United States registered yacht SV Sunny Deck travelling from Rarotonga to Tonga when a fire in the engine compartment engulfed the vessel at midnight.
The skipper (36) was on watch, and the two other sailors - aged 67 and 70, and both from Hamilton - were asleep at the time.
Maritime New Zealand said the crew had no time to dress or grab any equipment before abandoning the vessel to a liferaft. The skipper just managed to reach the emergency beacon as its lanyard melted into the vessel.
The beacon was German registered and the alert was received by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen. They then contacted the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand with the owner's details.
The rescue centre identified ships nearby and the Liberian-flagged container ship MV Cap Capricorn was the closest at just over 38km away and was requested to divert and provide assistance.
Mission coordinator Dave Wilson said the ship arrived just after 3am.
"When they arrived on scene they saw the glow from the burning yacht and blasted their whistle to attract the attention of any survivors," he said.
"After around 30 minutes of searching, they saw a distress flare fired in response. The liferaft was located and the ship maneuvered alongside.
"The three sailors were able to board the ship via the pilot ladder. First aid was provided on board, but we understand there are no serious injuries."
Mr Wilson said conditions in the area were not easy, with waves around 3.5m high and winds of 45kmh. The yacht's crew were safely on board the MV Cap Capricorn by about 5.15am.
"It was an excellent piece of seamanship to bring a 228m ship alongside a liferaft in these condition. We'd like to express our appreciation to the Master and the crew of the MV Cap Capricorn for their efforts," he said.
"The crew of the yacht were also well prepared - they had a registered EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), which enabled them to be identified quickly, their liferaft was in good condition, and they had a distress flare to respond when the ship arrived. In the circumstances it was an excellent result."
MV Cap Capricorn is en route to Auckland and is due to arrive on June 27.
- By Anna Leask of the New Zealand Herald
