By REBECCA WALSH and NZPA
Veteran yachtsman and historian Dr David Lewis says the dramatic end to his latest sailing odyssey will not stop him putting to sea again The 82-year-old, who sailed single-handed into Antarctica in 1972, was one of four people rescued from a liferaft after their yacht sank suddenly off Great Barrier Island.
Dr Lewis and three friends were at the start of a trip to Fiji when the front mast on their yacht, Taniwha, broke loose below the deck and gashed the hull.
Constable Greg Bolton said the group had only a few minutes to send a mayday signal and get into the liferaft before the boat sank. A fishing crew picked them up.
One of the four fell into the water, but was pulled aboard the raft, Constable Bolton said. All were wearing lifejackets.
Dr Lewis, who was staying with locals on Great Barrier Island last night, said the boat sank within five or six minutes.
"There was no time to be worried. We just had to decide what to do next. You don't get frightened or worried, you just get on with it, taking what's essential for survival. A few hours later you can get nervous.
"We are very relieved to all be intact with our lives. You can always get new possessions. I've been in quite dangerous situations, in the Antarctic particularly. One keeps on and gets out of them."
Dr Lewis lived aboard the yacht at Herald Island, near Whenuapai. He said last night he planned to stay on Great Barrier for a few days before heading back to Auckland. He had no plans to give up yachting.
"The sea has its dangers anywhere. It can jump and bite you as easily in the Hauraki Gulf, Great Barrier Island, as it can off Cape Horn. I think possibly to a certain extent, I've been living on borrowed time. I've been rather lucky on some occasions. You can't be lucky all your life."
Dr Lewis, who was sailing for Suva, has made many studies of ancient Micronesian and Polynesian sea travel around the Pacific.
On board the Taniwha when it sank was a sacred barnacle, considered to be a navigational tool by the Micronesians.
It was stored at the Te Papa museum in Wellington, and Dr Lewis was taking it back to an island in Micronesia.
He is hoping it can be recovered from the wreck, about 50m off the rocks on the west side of Taylor's Bay.
Dr Lewis achieved international fame in 1972 when he tried to make the first solo circumnavigation of the Antarctic. He was 54 when he ventured into the icy southern oceans in his 10m sloop Ice Bird.
He was trapped in ice, and endured many near-disasters, including a dramatic capsize.
Also on board the yacht yesterday were Rosalind Demas, 64, of Herald Island, and Waikato couple Kay Langdon, 57, and Walter Langdon, 58, from the west coast town of Kawhia.
A Great Barrier Island resident who saw the yacht sinking alerted police.
Old salt vows to sail again despite sinking
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