Two sailors rescued after yacht flips off NSW south coast after midnight
Two sailors have spent 15 hours in the freezing ocean clinging to their yacht, after it flipped during rough seas.
Two sailors have been dramatically rescued after being found clinging to their overturned yacht in the middle of the night off the NSW coast.
The experienced mariners struck difficulty when their vessel overturned about 15 nautical miles off Wollongong about 1am during extreme sea conditions.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre reported the vessel missing and initiated a search shortly after 1pm on Saturday.
HMAS Brisbane responded to the call, reaching the 60 square nautical mile search area about an hour later.
Passing merchant vessel merchant vessel MV Arietta Lily saw the upturned yacht and promptly reported it, enabling the crew of Brisbane to head there for the rescue.
The two yacht sailors were found clinging to the hull of their vessel and rescued by the destroyer’s Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat in 56 km/h winds and two metre swells.
Despite spending 15 hours in the ocean, the two sailors were assessed as being in good condition.
The pair made the journey back to Sydney on the Brisbane and were reunited with their families at Fleet Base East about 7pm.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority thanked the vessels involved in an official message.
“The quick response of the ADF and Arietta Lily to our distress broadcast was in the finest traditions of seafarers, and we appreciate the commendable seamanship of both Arietta Lily and HMAS Brisbane in sighting the survivors, maintaining visual contact and co-ordinating a response, and then recovering them in challenging conditions,” the message read.
HMAS Brisbane Commanding Officer, Commander Kingsley Scarce, said the ship’s company were pleased to play their part in the rescue, and paid tribute to their bravery in difficult conditions.
“We were happy that we could come to the aid of fellow mariners in their time of need today,” he said.
“Tremendous teamwork from all of Brisbane’s crew, from those who co-ordinated the search effort and response, to the bridge crew and lookouts, to those who provided medical care and hospitality to the survivors once rescued, and to all others who supported. The entire crew was eager to do whatever they could in the rescue effort.
“I want to particularly acknowledge the bravery of the sea boat crew who conducted the rescue in appalling sea conditions,” Commander Scarce said.