Skipper praises rescuers after mishap

A skipper and his daughter who ‘‘didn’t even get wet’’ after their launch hit a reef has praised the skills of marine Search and Rescue organisations.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, said he and his daughter were heading home after a weekend in Abel Tasman National Park when their boat ran aground at around 2am on Monday.

He had work on Monday, and was navigating home in the dark using a chartplotter, a GPS and chart navigation system. But the boat struck Pitt Head reef in Torrent Bay.

The man said the boat started sinking, and his daughter, in her 20s, quickly started saving items and got their two kayaks ready for evacuation. ‘‘She was amazing.’’

The man used the boat’s radio to call for help on emergency channels. Someone was monitoring a channel a few bays away, so the response was very quick, he said.

He and his daughter got into their kayaks and waited for rescue, which only took 15 to 30 minutes.

The man said everyone involved in the rescue was ‘‘amazing’’.

‘‘No injury, no loss of life, not so much as a bruise. I didn’t even get wet.’’

The man said his family were relieved that he and his daughter were OK, but sad that the boat was gone. However, ‘‘I’m certainly not going to stop boating, and nor is my daughter’’.

The man said he couldn’t speak highly enough of Tasman District harbourmaster Dan Cairney and his crew. ‘‘I was humbled by how they responded.’’

Cairney said the pair were rescued by a small vessel belonging to The Beast, a 39-metre catamaran belonging to jewellery magnate Sir Michael Hill, and taken to shore.

Divers used eight two-tonne lift bags to refloat the boat on Tuesday before it was towed back to Nelson.

Cairney said the dive team were able to lift the boat while it was still in one piece. ‘‘With this kind of wreck, there is a bit of a window to try and extract before it breaks up.’’

Cairney said the skipper had responded to the emergency perfectly.

He said that while navigating at night, it was best to use radar, as it was more reliable.

Diving Services New Zealand owner Bruce Lines said the divers’ initial plan had been to patch the hole in the boat. However, they discovered that it was not repairable.

Wilsons Abel Tasman chief executive Darryl Wilson said Pitt Head reef was a common area for boats grounding. Boaties often saw the lighthouse, which was well back from where the rocks finished, and ‘‘cut the corner’’, ending up on the reef.

Wilson said there was a small amount of debris from the boat immediately after the sinking, but it had all been collected.

In 2012, the yacht Okiana ran aground on rocks by Pitt Head reef.