SUNNY DECK

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Yacht abandoned after fire

Two New Zealand sailors have been rescued by the Liberian flagged cargo vessel "Cap Capricorn" from a life raft 28 km south of Niue after they abandoned the "Sunny Deck" early in the morning of June 24, 2015. The men and their Mexican skipper were travelling from Rarotonga to Tonga when a fire in the engine compartment engulfed the vessel at midnight. The skipper (36) was on watch, and the two other sailors - aged 67 and 70, and both from Hamilton - were asleep at the time. The crew had no time to dress or grab any equipment before abandoning the vessel to a liferaft. The skipper just managed to reach the emergency beacon as its lanyard melted into the vessel. The beacon was German registered and the alert was received by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen. They then contacted the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand with the owner's details. The rescue centre identified ships nearby and the "Cap Capricorn" was the closest at just over 38 km away and was requested to divert and provide assistance. The ship arrived just after 3 a.m. When they arrived on scene they saw the glow from the burning yacht and blasted their whistle to attract the attention of any survivors. After around 30 minutes of searching, they saw a distress flare fired in response. The liferaft was located and the ship maneuvered alongside. At one stage, iit drifted right past the bow of the ship, so it had to turn it around and get side on the raft again. At one stage it looked like it were going to drift past the stern of the ship, so the captain put it into reverse and, fortunately, as it went into reverse, it brought the stern of the ship a bit closer so finally the three sailors were able to board the ship via the pilot ladder. First aid was provided on board, but there were no serious injuries. Weather conditions in the area were not easy, with waves around 3.5 m high and winds of 45 km/h. The yacht's crew were safely on board the "Cap Capricorn" by about 5.15 a.m. The "Cap Capricorn" was en route from Los Angeles to Auckland and was due to arrive on June 27. Report with photo: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/nzers-rescued-after-yacht-fire-2015062416#axzz3dsd65jng