Chopper rescues man after boat tips

Vicki Waterhouse | 4th September 2008

The skipper of a Coastguard boat nearly drowned yesterday after a rogue set of waves overturned the boat when it suddenly lost power.

The 64-year-old from Waihi Beach was rescued by the TrustPower TECT helicopter and taken to Tauranga Hospital after his 5.2m jet boat overturned.

The drama unfolded about 1.5 nautical miles south of the northern entrance to Tauranga Harbour near Matakana Island about 10.50am.

The Coastguard was at Matakana Island because the crew was asked to retrieve the beacon which had been lost from Time to Burn, the yacht which lost its keel and overturned near Motiti Island early on Sunday.

Napier man Michael Claudatos, 52, drowned in the tragedy.

Rescue helicopter pilot Andrew Harrison said they had been prepared to lower a rescue swimmer into the water yesterday if it was necessary but the skipper had made it the 400m to the beach.

"We went out, found the boat, and found him a short way up the beach," he said.

Advanced paramedic Jeremy Gooders said the man was equipped with safety gear but was not in good shape.

"He was exhausted, mildly hypothermic and showing signs of inhaling some water," Mr Gooders said. "He was conscious and alert, just exhausted and cold."

He was taken to Tauranga Hospital for observation.

Waihi Beach Coastguard spokesman Noel Haszard said the skipper was sent out to help with communication difficulties between headquarters and the crew on the beach, which was trying to recover the beacon.

The man was driving a Waihi Beach Coastguard jet boat when he saw the waves approaching.

"Four in a row hit him, the first wave hit the vessel and he went over the top of it and then ... he lost power for some reason."

"With a jet boat once you lose power you're history, so it rolled him, and it was all over from there."

The skipper managed to trigger the boat's EPERB (Emergency Personal Beacon), which he spotted in the water.

"We lost the boat but we didn't lose the skipper and that's the important thing," Mr Haszard said.

The skipper had just received advanced survival training for dealing with similar situations over the weekend and told Mr Haszard he owed a great deal to that training.

Mr Haszard said the EPERB needed to be recovered to prevent confusion with other beacons.

"We had a ring from the national communications centre saying there was an EPERB going from off the vessel that had turned over," Mr Haszard said.

"It was still active so they wanted us to recover it and silence it because they had to blot it out and in the case of another beacon going off they may not hear it."

The crew went out at 8am yesterday to recover the beacon, which had washed up on Matakana Island.

Mr Haszard said the overturned jet boat was recovered late yesterday afternoon with the help of the Matakana Island rural fire crew.

The boat was severely damaged and was to be assessed for insurance purposes today. The skipper was released from hospital yesterday.