By TONY GEE
Two fishermen donned lifejackets and jumped into crashing surf in darkness early yesterday as their longline fishing boat was driven ashore on a remote Far North beach.
Skipper John McCormack and his deckhand made it ashore as their boat, the 9m Scot, from nearby Houhora, beached on sand at
the southern end of Great Exhibition Bay about 6am.
The pair, both local men, had sent out a Mayday call earlier after the Scot, anchored for the night, broke its anchor and drifted for some kilometres in northeast winds and 1m to 2m swells as attempts to restart the engine failed.
"You don't want to be down below in the engine room if it suddenly goes over," said boat owner David Olsen, whose Aquarius Fishing company runs a fleet of eight boats.
Both fishermen were unharmed and the Scot was believed to be relatively undamaged.
Northland Regional Council staff from Kaitaia plugged gaps to stop fuel and oil escaping from the stranded boat before pumping between 800 and 900 litres of diesel from the boat's fuel tanks at low tide.
The diesel was pumped into drums to avoid any fuel or oil spillage on the pristine beach, which has no public road access.
An insurance assessor was to gauge salvage options as the $40,000 boat was secured on the beach last night.
Attempts to refloat it using lines and boats were to be considered for last night's or today's high tides, but Mr Olsen said refloating could take several days before wind and sea conditions became favourable.
