Police spent more than four hours early this morning searching for man who had jumped in a dinghy after his yacht had run onto rocks at the entrance to Mangawhai Harbour.
The incident began just after midnight when police received a call about the stranded yacht, which was reported to be sinking. The 63-year-old man on board the yacht told police it was on rocks by the number 7 buoy off Home Point in the Whangarei Harbour.
Based on this information the Whangarei Coastguard, Marsden Point Oil Refinery rescue boat, Police staff began searching for the man in the area.
Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe said the search was made harder by the fact the man had no boating experience and did not know how to use emergency equipment such as the marine radio or EPIRB. He did, however, have a cellphone with him.
Mr Metcalf said the man jumped into his dinghy, but wasn’t wearing a lifejacket, as he couldn’t find it in the yacht.
“He insisted he was in the Whangarei Harbour, but after several hours of searching the area we couldn’t find him and it didn’t help that he was now out in the ocean in his dinghy.”
The man then told police he had come ashore on a sandspit and could see lights at a bach.
However, contact was lost with the man when he said he was getting back into his dinghy after being blocked from reaching the bach by a ‘deep estuary’.
As the search team still hadn’t located the man in the Whangarei Harbour they alerted volunteers from the Ruakaka, Waipu Cove and Mangawhai Heads Surf Lifesaving clubs to search the shore around their areas.
The yacht was then found aground on Sentinel Rock at the entrance to the Mangawhai Harbour, so a further search was carried out in the area and the man was found at 4.30am in his dinghy south of Sentinel Rock.
Mr Metcalfe said the man was taken to Whangarei Hospital suffering from severe hypothermia.
“This man had never owned a boat and had sailed north on his own without knowing how to operate a boat or the emergency equipment on board. He didn’t have a lifejacket and had been drinking.
It was an idiotic thing to do and he could easily have died. It took a lot of people, resources and hours to find the man who didn’t even know where he was and at times wouldn’t listen to instructions.”
Mr Metcalfe said the incident was preventable and, as we are heading into summer, a warning for people who are going boating to be well-prepared.
“Have a couple of forms of communication on board such as a marine radio and a cellphone, have enough lifejackets on board for everyone and wear them, make sure all emergency equipment is in working order and that you know how to use it, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to arrive and when you expect to return home, make sure you have enough fuel and food on board in case of any emergency, and ensure your boat is in good sea worthy condition.”
For media inquiries contact Northland Police Communications Manager Sarah Kennett on 09 945 4650 or 021 192 1099