Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he is going to make sure he is working with the Hawke's Bay community to assess its needs after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Video / NZ Herald
The retiree plucked from his stricken yacht in a daring navy rescue during the middle of Cyclone Gabrielle says he doesn’t feel lucky to be alive and is instead grieving the loss of his million-dollar catamaran.
The rescuers – including 156 crew on the Navy frigate Te Mana – risked their own lives in their desperate dash to reach him and likened the yacht to a “small toy being tossed around in a giant’s bathtub”.
Triple 8 catamaran was recently sighted west of Noumea. Photo / Supplied.
But despite Cyclone Gabrielle’s torrential rain, extreme wind, and treacherous waves, the 79-year-old regrets leaving his catamaran during the rescue.
“I half survived,” he told the Herald in his first interview since the cyclone.
“I’m not lucky at all to be alive, I have lost everything.
“I left every piece of clothing, items of personal property and every investment I had all tied up in the boat. I am sad I have lost a million-dollar boat, that’s the problem. I am not living, I am grieving.”
John Mellars who survived being swept out to sea during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Supplied.
Mellars didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong during the ordeal, although he said he hadn’t tied Triple 8′s head sails tight enough.
Te Mana’s commanding officer John McQueen was worried the ship wouldn’t make it in time to rescue Mellars and was also fearful for his crew’s safety working under perilous weather conditions.
Mellars, though, said he wasn’t frightened and jumped into the water as the team came to his aid.
“I wasn’t frightened at all. I was perfectly safe. It’s just that I was drifting away, and I lost my dinghy, my outboard, and I had no life raft. My boat was disabled but I knew help wasn’t far away and there were plans to rescue me. I knew the navy was out there and the police had tried to go out. I could hear helicopters from time to time, but they didn’t see me and reported me as being lost at sea the day I left [Great Barrier’s] Port Fitzroy.”
Able Seaman Combat Specialist Ashlea Farrar was on the RHIB that braved 8m swells to save the yachtie. Photo / Mike Scott
Able seaman combat specialist Ashlea Farrar was among those who boarded an inflatable boat to retrieve Mellers from the “washing machine” seas.
Farrar, who was 23 at the time, was later recognised for bravery along with three other crew.
“They all got medals for doing their friggin job,” Mellars told the Herald.
“I’ve spoken to them already but my sister made me write to them and I’ve communicated with the captain a few times.”
Mellars said he hasn’t given up on his yacht but conceded it’s probably too expensive to salvage given it wasn’t insured to begin with.
The Northland rescue helicopter assists Te Mana with the rescue mission during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Supplied.
“I have no idea why no one would insure it - the boat was my life. I asked a friend if he wants a half share in it but to get it back into a good state it would cost him a couple of million dollars. To replace it completely would cost $4m,” Mellars said.
Mellars claimed the boat was first sighted in the Bay of Islands, 10 days after it drifted. away. It was later seen off the coast in the New Hebrides where it was understood to have been run over by a ship and raided by “numerous” people. Mellars said he had recently returned from New Caledonia where he claimed his catamaran was sighted 200m off the west coast.
“I know exactly where it is. It’s been knocked around so big chunks of the boat are missing. It was last spotted on January 12; I’ve just come back from there and was hoping someone would take me out to it.”
Mellars stood in the Great Barrier Island local body elections last year winning 46 votes- the lowest number among the four candidates. The retiree who lives alone is understood to be back residing on the Island. He used to own a vineyard on the island and was the former chairman of the community board.
Mellars wouldn’t confirm where he was living but called his catamaran home for the past eight years. He is now planning to write a book about his wild rescue.
Carolyne Meng-Yee is an Auckland-based investigative journalist. She has worked for the Herald since 2007 and was previously a commissioner at TVNZ and a current affairs producer for 60 minutes, 20/20 and Sunday.
