An Auckland yacht owner's coastal trip ended in drama when his boat sank after striking rocks at the entrance to Tutukaka Harbour.
The 11-metre yacht, understood to be named Decisive, sank near the lighthouse end of the harbour entrance on Friday night.
Tutukaka coastguard president John Glaze said he understood the three
member crew had sailed from the Bay of Islands and were planning to stop at Tutukaka overnight.
They had hoped to arrive earlier but had been delayed and hit the rocks in darkness.
There had been a swell of up to one metre inside the harbour at the time but conditions outside would have been worse, Mr Glaze said.
The harbour entrance had lights, though Friday was a particularly dark night, he said.
The Tutukaka coastguard was alerted about 9.30pm but the crew managed to make their way to shore in a dinghy.
The coastguard then took the owner, Ian Bell, back out to his yacht but it had sunk by the time they got there. The yacht's mast was the only visible sign of the incident yesterday.
The Northern Advocate contacted Mr Bell at his Auckland home but he refused to comment, saying he had yet to speak with his insurance company.
