By Samantha Mythen
Rescuers have described how they saved several people from a devastating boat fire in Lyttelton Harbour on Saturday.Kim Clinch, acting commodore of the Charteris Bay Yacht Club, was on a moored boat running a regatta when she saw the boat in clear distress. She phoned emergency services.
"We saw it unfold, starting with seeing smoke from the boat.
"Our most important priority is to save lives first, rescues are a part of what we do and so the regatta support boat - a rib - headed over to the boat,” she said.
The club’s support crew, including Steve Palmer, were first on the scene.
He jokingly asked his fellow support crew whether it was a fire or a barbecue gone out of control.
They soon realised it was serious and headed to the boat, about 2min away from their position.
They saw two people swimming in the water, seven people on the smoking boat standing near the back with a dog, and one person in a small tender alongside.
Dan Leech, another of the support crew, picked up the two in the water and the final person in the tender. Palmer pulled up alongside the back of the boat and rescued the final seven, and the furry friend.
"They all showed signs of shock,” said Palmer.
"They were so frightened, they seemed shell-shocked,” said Clinch.
As they pulled away from the boat and headed towards Naval Point, they could see flames beginning to engulf the boat, which then sank into the water.
The coast guard arrived on scene around 20min later, Palmer said.
No one was wearing life jackets, apart from the dog on board. The boat, Aroha Mai, was fully equipped with safety gear, including life jackets.
Skippers are legally required to carry a correctly sized life jacket for every person on board.
In this case, the boat was about 12m long.
“I want to praise and thank the quick thinking of our support boat crew,” said Clinch.
Palmer said: “It was right place, right time. It’s usually pretty quiet as a support crew for the regatta so it was good to be really useful for a change.”
The owners of the vessel that caught fire, Debbie and Manaia Rehu, said: “Sorry, but we are too devastated to make any comments at this time, only to say we are so grateful no family members including our fur baby, suffered any injuries thanks to the Charteris Bay yaught (sic) club members who took us all to safety.”
The Charteris Bay Yacht Club was hosting the South Island Age Regatta with around 60 junior participants.
