Marine threat from abandoned Dutch yacht in South Pacific

9:25 PM Tue 8 Jun 2010 GMT

'Matahari incident - abandoned yacht now a marine hazard' .

Sailors in waters off New Zealand will need to be aware of a floating dismasted yacht after two Dutch sailors were winched off their boat this week. There is an emergency beacon attached to the yacht and New Zealand authorities were tracking it. Seas were wild when the couple, who were on their way to Vanuatu, called a Pan pan after their yacht lost power and steering after being dismasted The Dutch couple on their way to Vanuatu when they had to be winched to safety. Conditions were fine when the couple set sail four days previously. They were sailing ...

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by Sail-World Cruising