Rescued yachtsman to land at Port Chalmers

A Swiss yachtsman inadvertently enjoying a luxury sea cruise around the south of the South Island after he was plucked off his stricken yacht on Tuesday will arrive in Port Chalmers today.

Meanwhile, his yacht remains drifting somewhere in the Southern Ocean.

Bernt Luchtenborg, 56, was five months into an attempt at twice circumnavigating the globe, both solo and nonstop, when his 15.84m yacht hit “an underwater object”, he believes might have been a whale about 800km southwest of Stewart Island on Sunday night.

Rescue came in the form of luxury cruise ship the Seven Seas Mariner, which plucked Luchtenborg from his yacht, Horizons about 8am on Tuesday.

The liner arrived in Milford Sound and berthed briefly before leaving again yesterday morning. A Milford Sound Visitors Centre spokeswoman said seven passengers disembarked, but she did not know if Luchtenborg was among them.

Environment Southland harbourmaster Kevin O’Sullivan said it was unlikely the yachtsman had left the ship.

“He would need to be cleared by customs and biosecurity officers, and in Milford that’s unlikely to happen.”

The liner is scheduled to arrive in Port Chalmers today.

A large-scale rescue was launched after Luchtenborg radioed for help saying his rudder had been damaged making it impossible to sail or motor the yacht.

Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand search and rescue mission co-ordinator Dave Wilson said a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion search aircraft, which flew from Auckland, passed over the stricken yacht, before diverting the cruise liner from its passage to Milford Sound. The liner met Horizons about 8am on Tuesday.

The rescue had been an international effort, Mr Wilson said. “The yacht was technically in Australian search and rescue waters but was physically closer to New Zealand. We worked with the Australian search and rescue authorities to ensure we launched the best response.”

Mr Wilson said when Seven Seas Mariner picked Luchtenborg up, his yacht was afloat 650km west of Stewart Island and, because it was a potential hazard to navigation, a warning was issued by Australia.

Translating his blog from German, Luchtenborg says he hopes his insurers will pay to charter a boat to look for his yacht and, if it is found, tow it back to New Zealand for repairs.

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