Five people were rescued from rocks after their fishing vessel ran aground at French Pass in the Marlborough Sounds last night, with Coastguard volunteers battling strong currents to retrieve the crew and tow the disabled boat.
Maritime NZ said its rescue coordination centre was notified of a fishing vessel running aground at around 11.30pm on Tuesday.
Coastguard Nelson, who were deployed to the scene, said one person had been thrown overboard, and all five on board managed to reach the rocks where they were safe but “very cold”.
Once the Sealord Rescue vessel arrived around 2.30am, the skipper and engineer were placed back onto the fishing boat along with a Coastguard volunteer to prepare it for towing.
Sealord Rescue then took the vessel under tow to Croisilles Harbour for divers to assess any damage.
The three crew members who had been on Sealord Rescue were then transferred back to their vessel, and the Coastguard volunteer returned to the rescue vessel.
Coastguard Nelson skipper Steve King said the teamwork and vessel handling skills of Sealord Rescue’s crew were “certainly put to the test”.
“The vessel had to battle French Pass’ notoriously strong currents to get into a position where the fishing vessel’s crew could be safely taken off the rocky shoreline.”
Sealord Rescue had departed shortly after midnight and was back at base a little before 1pm, making it a 12-hour rescue.
King thanked the team, including the Rescue Coordination Centre, Maritime Radio, Coastguard Nelson’s rescue vessel crew and shore-based radio operators, for their “coordinated team effort”.
“A special shout-out from Sealord Rescue’s crew also goes out to the staff of Nelson’s Styx Restaurant, which arrived at the Costguard dock with hot bacon and egg butties for the crew.”