Holidaying couple’s yacht sinks after being hit by whale, sparking rescue
It’s often a “wow” moment when you see a pod of whales at play, but for a Melbourne couple on a sailing holiday, it was anything but.
A giant mammal crashed into their yacht, forcing them to abandon ship and sending their vessel to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Jeremy and Gemma Cooper and two other crew were 250 nautical miles from Norfolk Island bound for New Zealand when the collision with a whale happened. Nine
Jeremy and Gemma Cooper and two other crew were 250 nautical miles from Norfolk Island bound for New Zealand when the collision happened.
Their yacht Tai Tam’s rudder was all but torn off.
“It was a massive impact. My wife, who was steering, got thrown off the wheel,” Jeremy told 9News.
“And then you see a pod of whales around.”
The crew activated an emergency beacon and the Royal New Zealand Air Force scrambled a plane and was on the scene with hours as the sailors were forced to abandon ship.
“We sat in the life raft and watch the boat sink 100 metres away from us, not a great moment,” Jeremy said.
For seven hours they drifted with the moon their only light, waiting for a container ship to rescue them. Nine
For seven hours they drifted with the moon their only light, waiting for a container ship to rescue them.
Jeremy described it as “a life raft the size of a double bed, and you’ve got a 143-metre container ship coming towards you,”
“It was a massive impact. My wife, who was steering, got thrown off the wheel,” Jeremy told 9News. Nine
The French crew on the Sofrana Surville manoeuvred into place as the four scrambled up rope ladders.
They hitched a ride to New Caledonia and will fly back to Melbourne on Tuesday.
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