Whale strike disables yacht

Four people are recovering after their yacht collided with a whale off the Kaikoura coast on Friday.

A Coastguard vessel rescued the group after they activated the emergency beacon and used cellphones to call for help.

The Coastguard vessel Kaikoura Rescue found the yacht in rough seas and poor visibility and took the crew aboard.

Coastguard vessel crew Daryl McMillan said the collision "looks like it definitely was a whale". Although this was the first call-out of this nature for the Coastguard, it was not unheard of.

"With whales, who knows. It might just have been a case of bad timing."

The yacht - the Marguerite - had been found and towed into Kaikoura.

It had been en route from Waikawa Bay, Picton, to Lyttelton when the collision disabled it about 8am.

The three men and one woman on board were all recovering well after receiving moderate injuries, including a broken wrist and a fish hook in the buttock.

- NZPA