Damaged sloop and dogged captain safe at last

The stricken yacht Xiphos and its stubborn skipper, who insisted on staying aboard against the advice of rescuers, arrived in the Picton yesterday evening.

The Rescue Co-ordination Centre confirmed the arrival of the 13m yacht and said its New Caledonian owner, Daniel Le Meur, 54, was safe and well.

A Port Marlborough staff member said the sloop, towed by a tug, arrived about 6.45pm.

Half an hour later the Xiphos was being processed by Customs and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry officers.

The saga began when the Xiphos' engine broke down and its sails were ripped by rough weather off Taranaki.

Mr Le Meur and his 19-year-old daughter, Morgane, were rescued on Monday.

Mr Le Meur got back on the 13m sloop late on Tuesday night when he and the Taranaki Coastguard attempted to salvage the boat about 20-25 nautical miles from shore during a lull in the bad weather.

The coastguard abandoned their attempt to tow the $300,000 boat back to shore about 2.30am on Wednesday after the tow rope broke in heavy seas and rough weather.

Mr Le Meur refused to get back on the coastguard boat when the salvage was abandoned, and the coastguard refused his request for his daughter to join him on the Xiphos.

About 3pm on Wednesday he set off an emergency beacon when the yacht was about 40km from D'Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds, but then said he did not need help.

Overnight the Xiphos was accompanied by the fishing boat Mako as it limped along in rough seas.

About 11.30am yesterday the Mako managed to get a line on to the yacht, before being replaced by the tug Nautilus 3, which yesterday afternoon attached a tow rope to the Xiphos in the Port Gore area, near the tip of the Marlborough Sounds.

It is thought Mr Le Meur may have insisted on staying with the yacht to avoid salvage operators moving in.

Rescue co-ordination centre spokesman Steve Corbett said the organisation would pick up the cost for the initial search and rescue , but would be looking to recoup all other costs.

The yacht's insurers had confirmed they would pay for all of yesterday's activity, he said.

It was too early to say what the cost would be.

"It's frustrating that it's taken up a lot of time and resources," Mr Corbett said, "but I guess at the end of the day our job is to protect human life and we are glad he's okay.

"These are one-off cases - there are thousands of trips every year and some of them get into trouble. They are very isolated.

"At the end of the day there's nothing we can do. We offer the best advice but they are quite within their rights to re-board and in this case he had a lot of valuables and possessions on board so you can understand why he would want to get them back."

An elated Mr Le Meur told One News from the Xiphos that the yacht was his home and much more than just a boat.

- NZPA