Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Tauranga sailor Stuart Pedersen dies after yacht sinks north of Cape Brett

Bay of Plenty Times
14 Oct, 2019 08:22 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Footage of the Cape Brett Rescue. Video / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

Well-known Tauranga sailor and local Act Party candidate Stuart Pedersen has been identified as the victim of the fatal yachting accident in Northland.

Pedersen died after a yacht he and three others were in sank north of Cape Brett yesterday.

ACT Party leader David Seymour said members of his party were in a state of shock following the news.

He said Pedersen was an "incredibly kind and hospitable man", who had the most "giving heart".

READ MORE:
• One dead and three in hospital after yacht sinks off Northland
• $450,000 NZ racing yacht abandoned, left to drift in Pacific after keel falls off
• A British couple hitching on a yacht that turned into a tale of horror

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The party were all thinking of Pedersen's wife Pamela at this time and would provide support in any way they could, he said.

BOP Act candidate Bruce Carley said Pedersen and him were "very good friends". Both within politics and outside of.

He said Pedersen was an "excellent sailor" and volunteered a lot of his spare time helping train budding young sailors.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He had a fond memory of election day two years ago, where they "couldn't talk politics in public" - so they headed out on his yacht for a day.

Pedersen would "never put anyone in danger". His voice cracked as he said "he would have died making sure he saved the lives of his wife Pamela and loved ones."

Former club commodore Nick Wrinch and other club members found out of Pedersen's death last night.

"It's just tragic. We are just gutted. It's just horrible news. We all knew Stuart. He was a guy we all wanted a lot to do with.

Discover more

Couple's pet attacked by loose dogs at Taipa

14 Oct 09:00 PM
New Zealand

One dead and three in hospital after yacht sinks off Northland

14 Oct 03:54 AM
New Zealand

Yacht tragedy: Watch how rescuers overcame giant waves to save trio

14 Oct 10:59 PM
New Zealand

Yachting tragedy: Couple were tangled in life-raft ropes

16 Oct 02:54 AM

"He was always there. The stuff he did for the kids was fantastic. He had huge energy and vision. He was just great.

"It's a big loss."

Past secretary of the Port Ohope Yacht Club Sally Reid said Pedersen was a "humble man" who was enthusiastic about getting young people out on to the water.

She said over the years, Pedersen had made a "huge difference" to the small club by helping fund boats for their junior sailors.

"Nothing was ever a problem for him... he was just an amazing guy."

Tauranga Yacht and Power Boat Club confirmed in a statement that the man who died was club member Stuart Pedersen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You may have seen news reports about a yacht which sank earlier today off Cape Brett, with one sailor dead, and another three in hospital in serious condition," says the club in the statement.

"My information is that the deceased sailor is one of our leading club members, tornado sailor and chairman of BOPSAT, Stuart Pedersen.

"Fellow club member Bruce Goodwin, Stuart's wife Pamela and Pamela's brother-in-law Steve are the survivors.

"Bruce and Steve have been released from hospital but unfortunately, Pamela is still in intensive care."

The New Zealand Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a distress call from the occupants of the 47-foot yacht floundering in choppy seas, about 20km north of Cape Brett, about 1pm on Monday.

Communication from the four sailors said they were abandoning their vessel, having lost their liferaft in the 5 to 6m swells and 40- to 50-knot gusts.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Orion located the four people in the water around 2.47pm and dropped a raft, before the Westpac Rescue Helicopter winched them up, but one of the people died.

One sailor was in a critical condition while two others were moderate.

Investigations on what caused the yacht to sink and where the sailors were heading to are ongoing.

A statement from the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter said crews were tasked by the Rescue Coordination Centre to assist with the search and rescue.

It said an Air Force P3 Orion was also tasked and dropped a life raft to the patients, then
kept watch over the helicopter rescue.

When Westpac 1 arrived, two persons were in the water and two were in the life raft.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All four patients were winched aboard Westpac 1 by an Intensive Care Paramedic and then flown to Whangarei.

Westpac 3's HEMS Doctor took over on Westpac 1's return and escorted the female patient by ambulance to hospital.

A Northland District Health Board spokeswoman said one person remained in Whangarei Hospital in a stable condition.

The other two people had been treated and discharged from hospital, she said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood

Northern Advocate

'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court

Northern Advocate

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood
Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood

Roddy Pihema saved a woman and her pets from rising floodwaters in Kawakawa.

16 Jul 06:00 AM
'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court
Northern Advocate

'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court

16 Jul 04:04 AM
Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants
Northern Advocate

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

16 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP