Crew of stricken Volvo Ocean Race yacht rescued

Team Vestas Wind boat grounded on the Cargados Carajos Shoals, Mauritius. Photo / NCG Operations Room - MRCC Mauritius

The Team Vistas Wind crew, who have been stranded on a remote island in the Indian Ocean since Sunday have finally been rescued.

The crew, including New Zealand yachtsmen Rob Salthouse and Tony Rae, had to abandon ship after their yacht ran aground during the Volvo Ocean Race about 4am on Sunday (NZT).

The yacht, taking part in the second leg of the round-the-world race, was wrecked on remote Cargados Carajos Shoals, also known as St Brandon, some 450km north-northeast of Mauritius.

The crew had taken shelter in a house on Ile de Sud in the archipelago and yesterday were picked up by the coastguard boat, Eliza, from Mauritius, a Volvo Ocean Race spokesperson said.

Once the crew arrived at Mauritius, they planned to fly to Abu Dhabi at the end of the week, the spokesperson said.

Neil Cox, the team's shore crew chief, told volvooceanrace.com on Tuesday: "We've had nine guys sitting on a sand pit in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

"You'd think it's a bad movie. You sit there and talk to the coast guard and they're telling us about everything we're dealing with on the technical side, then they're asking me to warn the guys that the reef is riddled full of sharks and barracuda and God knows what else," he said.

"They're telling me about a fisherman they found out there, who'd been basically mauled by a barracuda and there was barely much left of him to deal with.

"You're sitting there, going, yeah, well, next time I talk to Nico (skipper Chris Nicholson) I might remind him that if they are wading out there in the reef, to keep their eyes open."

The team would arrive in Mauritius mid-morning today with literally the clothes they have on their backs, Cox said.

"We want to make sure that even the simple things are covered; a clean T-shirt, undies, a toothbrush, a bit of food," he said.

"The Coastguard here did a flyover yesterday and they parachuted in cans of Coke, chocolate and cookies.

"I don't think people can totally appreciate how remote this place is. We saw there's a Coastguard out there; it's literally a tool shed in someone's backyard."

The boat was being stripped of key kit and Cox was still working out how it could be retrieved.

He paid tribute to the crew for keeping their cool and professionalism after such a stunning collision on Leg 2 of the nine-month, round-the-world race.

"Their procedure, everything was as professional and as good as it could be - you couldn't ask for more."

Nicholson was a twice-Olympian, who is one of the most experienced off-shore sailors in the world. He said that a "mistake" had been responsible for the collision with the reef, but did not elaborate.

The team planned to make a full statement on the facts later this week.

Earlier in the week Nicholson said the hi-tech yacht was ruined.

"It's extensively damaged. It took a massive, massive pounding," Nicholson said.