Sailors rescued after boat and whale collide

A skipper who was rescued from a stricken yacht in heavy seas near Kaikoura yesterday suspects the vessel struck a whale.

Three men and a woman were rescued from the 9m yacht Marguerite in rough conditions after losing steering following an impact during the night.

The skipper sprained a wrist and the woman suffered a fish hook in her right buttock during the ordeal. Both were treated in hospital and released yesterday.

Kaikoura Coastguard search and rescue co-ordinator Daryl McMillan told NZPA today that the collision "looks like it definitely was a whale".

McMillan said though this was the first call-out the Coastguard had had of this nature, it was not unheard of.

"With whales, who knows. It might just have been a case of bad timing."

He said the yacht had taken on water, shorting out its electronic systems, after the rudder was damaged.

An emergency beacon was set off at 7.30am, alerting the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand, and a call for help put out by radio.

Kaikoura Coastguard took 90 minutes to reach the yacht, 18 nautical miles southeast of Kaikoura.

McMillan said two flares were fired from the yacht to direct rescuers, who couldn't see the vessel over heavy swells.

Five coastguard crew battled 3m swells and 5m breaking waves to pull the four people to safety.

"It was one person at a time, picking the right swell and getting the timing right and using the coastguard crew to literally manhandle people from one vessel to another," he said.

McMillan said the yachties had endured a long, dark night in tough conditions, and were lucky to escape with minor injuries.

"Everyone got very tired, very wet and very cold," he said. They were brought back to Kaikoura, where the two injured passengers were taken to hospital.