Giant whale rams yacht; four spend 17 hours at sea before being rescued

NORFOLK: A 52-foot-long yacht sank after being hit by a giant whale in the South Pacific Ocean, about 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island. The four people on board were rescued safely after spending nearly 17 hours in a life raft. The group included two Australian nationals and citizens of New Zealand and France. Emergency rescue services received a distress call after the Australian yacht Tai Tam began sinking.

The yacht was violently rocked to one side after the whale struck it. Six to eight sperm whales were reportedly swimming around the boat, with one or two said to be almost as large as the yacht. The impact completely disabled the vessel’s steering system.

The bottom of the yacht was damaged and seawater began rushing in. The group immediately sent a Mayday distress call and tried to remove the water using buckets and pumps. However, their efforts could not prevent the yacht from sinking. As the boat filled with water and slowly went under, the four lowered an inflatable life raft into the sea and moved into it.

Following the distress call, New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre launched a search and rescue operation. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft searched for the four people and their life raft. After hours at sea, a nearby cargo ship located the group and rescued them. All four were safely rescued and are reported to have suffered no injuries.