Rescued yachties grateful

Two yachtsmen rescued off Australia say they have the New Zealand authorities to thank.

Maritime New Zealand picked up a distress signal after the $160,600 yacht La Vaudoise hit a reef on June 28. It started sinking about 800km northeast of Brisbane in the Coral Sea.

Maritime NZ's operations centre at Lower Hutt alerted Australia's rescue co-ordination centre and the yachties, who were forced to take to a liferaft, were picked up the next morning by a New Caledonian fishing boat.

"It was a relief," crewman Anthony Leggatt, 49, of Adelaide, told the Adelaide Advertiser newspaper. "At least somebody knew we were in trouble. We hadn't seen any other vessels or airplanes."