Yachties rescued a second time after trouble in Bay of Plenty

Two people had to be rescued from their yacht in the early hours of yesterday - the second time the pair needed help this week.

A Coastguard spokesman said they received a distress call about 12.40am from the same vessel it had received two mayday calls from about 8pm on Sunday.

There had been an issue with anchoring the vessel that night and a search and rescue mission, involving a P3 Orion aircraft from Auckland, was launched.

The H28 blue yacht was later found in Ōmāio Bay after a member of the public spotted it and called a local radio station, which had been running a news report about the search.

Yesterday's mayday call was to report that the anchor had been lost completely and that the vessel was now hitting rocks at Ōmāio Bay in the Bay of Plenty.

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The Coastguard sent out two boats - one from Whakatāne and the other from Ōpōtiki - to help those on board.

They were safely taken to Whakatāne by 9am with the help of authorities.

The Coastguard spokesman said Sunday night's mayday calls had been somewhat difficult as the people on board could not specifically pinpoint their location.

He said this time, the pair had "learned their lesson" and had been quick to give full details to authorities.