SA sailors rescued off Aussie coast
A SOUTH African sailor returned home after being rescued by the Australian Navy, after the yacht he and two others sailed out of Durban, lost its mast in rough seas off the coast of Australia.
Yacht owner Armand van Niekerk, 65, his son Johan van Niekerk, 30, and Mark Collum, 29, had left Durban’s Point Yacht Club in mid-Febuary setting a course to New Zealand.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said AMSA’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in Canberra detected a distress beacon from Jedi 1 on Thursday, March 16. The yacht was located over 1 300km south-west of Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia. The main mast, the tallest mast, usually located near the centre of the ship and carrying the sails, was damaged by rough seas.
The Perth-based AMSA Challenger search-and-rescue jet was sent to the yacht’s location to establish radio contact with the crew.
According to AMSA, the Challenger dropped satellite and radio communication equipment to the crew.
“The crew members confirmed their yacht had been dismasted and their intention to abandon the stricken vessel. Given the yacht’s remote location, the Royal Australian Navy called for assistance in rescuing the crew,” AMSA stated.
Armand van Niekerk told the Australian media that they were a month into the voyage when they were hit by 10m waves and strong winds. The Navy ship HMAS Parramatta reached the men two days later. The ship’s helicopter winched the men from the yacht to safety. They were in good health, stated AMSA. Collum who captained the 13m yacht arrived in Joburg on Monday.
The Van Niekerks, of Pretoria, stayed behind in Australia. Van Niekerk senior told Australian TV he was not enthusiastic to recover the Jedi 1 at the time of his rescue. The Daily News made attempts to contact the Van Niekerks but was unsuccessful. Collum, from Mpumalanga, will be in Durban next month looking for his next sailing trip.