A major, multi-agency maritime search-and-rescue operation in the treacherous waters of the Cook Strait culminated in the successful rescue of an injured solo skipper overnight. The massive deployment of air and sea assets was triggered after an 11-metre yacht, the Boxing Kangaroo, encountered severe difficulties.
The incident initially began to unfold when the vessel was traveling north from Wellington. The journey took a critical turn when on Wednesday 20 May one of the two occupants on board fell seriously ill.
Local Coastguard volunteers aboard the Spirit of Wellington launched at 8:30pm that same night to facilitate a high-stakes medical evacuation approximately 7 nautical miles southeast of Cape Palliser. The crew braved an eight-hour, 82-nautical-mile round trip, safely handing the sick crew member over to Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics at 4:00 am.
Following the evacuation, the yacht’s skipper made the decision to remain on board alone to sail the vessel back into Wellington. However, conditions in the area quickly deteriorated. A critical afternoon mayday call was issued on Thursday 21 May after the solo yachtie became lost in the deteriorating conditions.
Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder confirmed the vessel was facing extreme difficulties returning to port near Baring Head. A large-scale Category 1 search-and-rescue operation was immediately coordinated by the New Zealand Police.
According to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), the Inshore Patrol Vessel HMNZS Taupō happened to be in the vicinity for sea training and intercepted the maritime radio calls for assistance around 4:00 pm. Conditions were described as “horrible,” with ferocious 30- to 40-knot winds and punishing two-metre swells slamming the naval vessel.
The NZDF detailed that a rescue helicopter was initially added to the search, using searchlights alongside naval flares. However, the helicopter had to depart the station due to low fuel. Due to the massive environmental drift, the yacht was missing from the immediate Wellington coastline, forcing the HMNZS Taupō to transit further south.
The breakthrough came when a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft arrived overhead. The NZDF noted that the aircraft located the drifting yacht within minutes. Tide and current had carried the Boxing Kangaroo well out of the Cook Strait, leaving it drifting 20 nautical miles due east of Cape Campbell.
The Taupō raced to the coordinates at 18 knots. Close to midnight, the ship’s highly skilled sea boat crew deployed in a Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) to extract the injured sailor. The skipper, who had fallen several times and was cold and wet, was treated by an onboard medic and given a hot meal. Because conditions were too dangerous to safely secure a towline, the yacht had to be left behind. The skipper was brought safely ashore at the Navy vessel’s next port of call in Napier.
