Yacht Boundless washed up on beach after crew rescue

11:55 AM Mon 11 May 2009 GMT

'Dargaville, New Zealand, where the yacht Boundless has now washed up on a beach' .

A yacht abandoned by three panicked crew after encountering heavy seas between Brisbane and Auckland last month has washed up on a beach in New Zealand's north.

The crew of the Boundless were airlifted to Whangarei on April 21 after the yacht's sails were damaged in stormy seas and they were running out of fuel to motor to their destination.

When the Rescue Coordination Centre sent fuel by helicopter, they refused the fuel and wanted instead to abandon the boat and be airlifted to safety (see Sail-World story)

Maritime historian Noel Hilliam said the yacht had washed up on a beach south of Dargaville in the northern North Island, at high tide on Saturday.

'The insurance company was up yesterday and there is a plan to try to salvage it,' Hilliam said.

'The only damage done is the mast has broken off, but the rest of the boat is intact and still in a dry condition. It was locked down when they abandoned it.'

Mr Hilliam said the boat had settled down in the sand at about the half-tide mark and if it was not salvaged the heavy seas would eventually destroy it.

by BW Media roundup

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