Dinghy teenager has no regrets
A teen who set out in his dinghy from the South Island to Wellington is unrepentant and says he’d do it again.
Tachyon Hutt, 18, left Kenepuru Sound near the top of the South Island about 10pm on Wednesday, heading to Wellington to see his brother, he told Stuff yesterday.
‘‘I’ve got family up here and I thought I’d just go and do something. We’ve had the lockdown and we’ve been all selfisolated and that and I needed something to take my mind off things.’’
Hutt, who says he’s ‘‘really experienced’’ with boats, had crossed Cook Strait six times by himself in bigger boats, but never in a dinghy.
‘‘I know how to handle the Cook Strait and I know how to handle the dinghy, so I sort of put one and one together and I sort of just thought I’m going to Wellington, can’t really stop me, I’m not turning back now.’’
The teen departed Kenepuru Sound, where he lives, with no waterproof clothing, water or food, just a lifejacket, expecting the trip to take up to six hours. He had a compass with him but did not bother using it.
The journey got off to a good start until conditions started to get a bit rough. He decided to head towards Mana Island, near Porirua, planning to spend the night and then head towards Wellington at first light, only for the motor to cut out.
‘‘I just stopped for a little break and then I started paddling and I thought it might be easier and quicker to get a tow. I thought why waste the energy when I can get a ride?
‘‘I tried to call the Porirua Coastguard and no-one was answering and the reception wasn’t very good so it was a bit of a muckaround plus my hands and phone were wet so it was hard to use.’’
About 9am on Thursday, he got hold of the harbourmaster, who then contacted police. A short while later
Hutt received a text from police, and after responding to it, emergency services were able to get his location.
‘‘I didn’t panic at any time, I was quite comfortable,’’ Hutt recalls. ‘‘It was a southerly out there so it was quite cold, I was soaked. But I didn’t really get too cold until early hours of the morning and I was just sitting there not paddling or anything so I wasn’t keeping my body temperature up.’’
After police got his exact position, they dispatched Coastguard to attend, and the police launch also went around. Maritime radio also put a call-out on other boats in the area to look out for the teen.
A paramedic on board the Westpac rescue helicopter, which was also sent to the scene, was winched down to assess him.
Senior Sergeant Dave Houston, officer in charge of the Wellington Police Maritime Unit, earlier said he was in a ‘‘pretty good’’ state, which surprised emergency services.
Hutt was then taken in from the water to Mana Marina, with Coastguard also towing his boat to shore.
Hutt said he had thought a lot about his decision to try cross Cook Strait in his dinghy and had no regrets.
‘‘I’d do it again, but I’m not going to at this stage,’’ he said. ‘‘I was on an adventure, why should you stop nature? Why should you cut out someone’s freedom?’’
He added he was grateful for all the help he received from emergency services. Houston said earlier the teen didn’t check the forecast before leaving the South Island. Fortunately for his sake, Houston said, conditions were ‘‘pretty good’’, other than a slight southerly blowing.
‘‘It would’ve been a bit choppy for a dinghy.’’
Police had contacted his relatives, who were ‘‘very concerned about what he’d done’’, Houston said, and ‘‘very relieved to find out that he was safe and well’’.
‘‘He was incredibly lucky. To do something like that at night time – to cross one of the most treacherous waters, [there’s] strong tides that go through there, rips, and the weather is unpredictable. It’s a piece of water you’ve got to treat with respect.
‘‘If small boats do it, [they’ve got to be] well-prepared,’’ Houston said.
Houston said the operation would have turned into a massive search if the teen didn’t have his phone on him.
‘‘The battery on his cellphone was becoming flat. If we didn’t have the mobile location we would have had a massive search. The mobile ... literally saved his life.’’
He said Hutt would not face any charges related to his journey.