Lucky sailor found off coast

Dramatic footage shows the moment a very lucky sailor was plucked from the sea after falling from his yacht off the East Coast.

The 30-year-old German man fell overboard about 35km off the coast of Tolaga Bay on Wednesday afternoon.

The Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter was dispatched from its Napier base and located the man. The sailor, who was one of two men on the 9-metre yacht, had not been wearing a lifejacket but managed to tread water for 21⁄2 hours in a sizeable swell until he was found.

The man was suffering from hypothermia and was taken to Gisborne Hospital, where he recovered and was discharged about midnight.

Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter spokesman Ian Wilmot said they got the call from Coastguard about 2.30pm.

‘‘The PLB [personal locator beacon] was activated when the guy fell overboard, so we had a rough idea of where he was.

‘‘The crew approached that point and began a grid search.

‘‘After covering a wide area, at which point they were close to heading back, they spotted him,’’ Wilmot said.

‘‘He was not wearing a lifejacket and was in clothing that did not contrast very well with the sea, and there was a lot of glare off the water, as well as a swell of about 2.5m. He was a very lucky man,’’ Wilmot said.

‘‘He had obviously decided to just keep himself afloat and not fight it. If you are 25 nautical miles off the coast, you’ve got no

‘‘He had obviously decided to just keep himself afloat and not fight it. If you are 25 nautical miles off the coast, you’ve got no hope of swimming back in.’’

hope of swimming back in.

‘‘He was sensible enough to relax and hope that someone came for him,’’ he said.

The man was obviously fit and a capable swimmer, Wilmot said.

‘‘I imagine he was a very happy man when he got in the chopper.’’

After spotting him, the pilot descended and a swimmer (rescuer) jumped into the sea and he and the rescued man were winched up to the chopper.

‘‘Normally when we go there would be just one pilot, the St John paramedic and a swimmer.

‘‘We had a second pilot available yesterday, which was great, because the more eyes you have on a job like this, the better,’’ Wilmot said.

Also involved in the rescue was an RNZAF P3 Orion from Whenuapai, and two fixed-wing aircraft from Napier and Gisborne. Wilmot said the yacht had departed the Bay of Islands and was heading east when the man fell overboard.