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A dramatic rescue operation unfolded off the coast of Australia on Tuesday after two sailors were stranded on a yacht overnight in extreme weather conditions.
The sailors, a 60-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman, were rescued in a multi-agency operation after their 19m yacht, the Spirit of Mateship, starting taking on water due to a mechanical issue.
The rescue operation was initiated at 1pm on Monday after the Spirit of Mateship sent out a distress beacon, and it took several hours for helicopters to locate the vessel. In the meantime, the yacht lost power and communication capabilities, and was battered by strong winds of up to 90kmph.
Ben Flight, duty manager at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Response Centre, said a helicopter was able to establish radio contact with the yacht and fly above it but was unable to retrieve the passengers due to the challenging conditions.
A subsequent rescue attempt was also abandoned due to rough seas, leaving the sailors on board to endure a “horrible” night at sea, Mr Flight said.
“They were sort of just at the mercy of the elements. They would have been moving around uncomfortably. It would have been particularly windy, noisy, probably quite wet as well.
“I don’t imagine they would have got any rest overnight, so I imagine they’d be quite tired and very relieved to be rescued,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.
The NSW Water Police vessel Nemesis was able to make contact with the sailors at 1am on Tuesday, arriving at the scene at 3am.
However, extreme weather conditions prevented the crew from rescuing them.
Anthony Brazzill of the New South Wales police described the conditions as “terrible”. The sailors had to jump onto a rescue boat one at a time, with Mr Brazzill praising the experienced mariners who executed the rescue.
“It’s a matter of just basically timing it,” he said. “Get the person to jump, as they’re coming in, get them to jump and catch, doing one at a time, obviously making sure that people have the life jackets on.”
The yacht had drifted 70 nautical miles overnight and the passengers were unable to bring the sails down, Mr Brazzill said.
“The yacht was running away from us as we were chasing it down the coast which obviously made it a challenge.”
File. Spirit of Mateship in Sydney on 23 November 2013 (AP)
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said an emergency alert from the yacht was received on Monday, and a distress beacon was activated about 150km offshore from Nowra.
The sailors were rescued around 7.25am on Tuesday and were travelling to Sydney on board the Nemesis for medical assessment.
They were fatigued but uninjured and were expected to land at the NSW Police Marine Area Command late Tuesday night.
The Spirit of Mateship has taken part in several Sydney to Hobart races since 2013. The yacht was left in the ocean, with Mr Brazzill stating that their priority is to “save lives, not save boats”.
