Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

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

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

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

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

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 / Bay of Plenty Times

Missing yachtie safe on shore and not allowed to leave

Kiri Gillespie
By Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
25 Sep, 2016 10:20 PM2 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

Missing yachstman Darius DeWet has been found and is now safe and sound on dry land at Whakatane. Photo/file

Missing yachstman Darius DeWet has been found and is now safe and sound on dry land at Whakatane. Photo/file

A novice sailor who sparked a national rescue effort last week is now safe on dry land and not allowed to leave, just yet.

Darius DeWet, from South Africa, spent the weekend on his 6.7m yacht Luna anchored at Whale Island, offshore from Whakatane.

Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve Rendle said Mr DeWet, from South Africa, docked in at Whakatane Port about 10.45am today,

The inexperienced yachtie had set off from Napier on September 16 and twice went missing.

Mr Rendle said Whakatane Coastguard travelled out to Mr DeWet last night and this morning helped navigate the Luna over the notorious Whakatane bar.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Now that Mr DeWet was in port, he was subject to several conditions from Section 55 of the Maritime Transport Act which prevent him from leaving without approval from authorities.

The conditions meant Mr DeWet had to prove he and his vessel were safe enough to continue his journey to Auckland and had suitable training and experience to handle weather conditions, Mr Rendle said.

A police spokeswoman said they spoke to Mr DeWet on Saturday, when police and the coastguard travelled by boat out to his yacht.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr DeWet had not been checking in via radio with a friend every 24 hours as he had promised.

Two searches were undertaken - on Monday and Thursday last week - but each time, he appeared in good spirits and his yacht was undamaged.

Authorities were still calculating the cost of the two searches but the young skipper will not be billed for the search operation as it could put off others from seeking urgent help.

In the first search, a Philips Search and Rescue Trust plane found the yacht anchored in Anaura Bay, near Tolaga Bay. Mr DeWet waved to the aircraft and appeared unharmed so the plane left him.

In the second search, a Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopter found him 16km south of Cape Runaway at 2.40pm on Thursday.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

live
Bay of Plenty Times

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 07:53 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up efforts begin
live

Up to 50 people evacuated from homes after wild weather, clean-up efforts begin

11 Jul 07:53 PM

The North Island is expected to get off to a wet start this morning, with lingering rain.

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

'Powerful example': Mum overcomes addiction to build a life helping others

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

Bay home crowd rallies behind netball's Magic

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

Tearful hunter admits shooting and killing friend

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

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
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • 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
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP