French Navy saves New Zealand family with six children

4:17 AM Fri 3 Jul 2009 GMT

'Carenza’s Skipper had to watch as the yacht sank' .

While French footballers may not be so popular in New Zealand after a French rugby player in New Zealand was recently found to be lying about his injuries, the French Navy has redeemed their nation with the New Zealand sailing fraternity after they came to the rescue of an Auckland family on a dismasted yacht.

The Bradfield family's yacht Carenza was crippled by a storm, as they sailed from Tonga to Auckland. When they sent out a mayday, it was a French patrol boat that came to save them.

Charles Bradfield, his partner Joy and their six children had spent a helpless night in two metre swells after their mast snapped and ropes got tangled in the rudder.

The following morning, as the French Navy brought them home on calm seas, it was hard to imagine the ocean hostile.

Bradfield family - photo Brett Phibbs NZ Herald - .. .

Unless you were 13-year-old Tom, who was on watch when the mast snapped.

'I kind of thought we were going to sink instantly. I ran up, opened up the hatch and yelled 'Everybody up - the mast had snapped'. Everybody looked at me as if I was mad,' says Tom.

Just after that it became clear they had to abandon the vessel. But thankfully French Navy ship 'La Glorieuse' was only 80 nautical miles away. Within hours the captain spotted the ship from the bridge.

It was too dangerous to take the Bradfields on board that night, so the French circled the Kiwis until dawn, when they took the family from the yacht by inflatable. But the rescue still posed one problem.

The last sight of Carenza, just before she slipped beneath the surface. Bradfield is immediately chartering another yacht - .. .

'We couldn't leave the vessel. This is the other emotional thing. We couldn't leave Carenza just lying afloat, and a decision was made to scuttle her. That's the skipper's job - my job,' said Charles Bradfield.

So with the assistance of the French military personnel, Bradfield scuttled the yacht and the family - Rebekah, 6, Abby, 10, Tom, 13, Emma, 14, Matt, 16, Josh, 18, mother Joy and father Charles - were then taken back to Auckland and safety.

However, Charles Bradfield was last seen trying to charter a yacht to take his family for a sail.

'You have to get them back on the horse,' he said.

by Des Ryan