Oh my, we received a sad phone call from a friend of the owners of the 50foot yacht The Three Amigos. They were coming into Opua to clear customs for their trip across to Rarotonga.
It was night, and they were following the leading lights to Waitangi when they suddenly realised by the noise that they were in the wrong position and that they were on Tapeka Point, taking evasive action they steered hard a starboard, but it was too late.
Merv (who is on 70 years of age), was thrown through the rigging and had his nose ripped off, but his wife Gaeleen did a marathon save – she threw him overboard and swam him through the 3 metre swells onto the rocks and safety.
The local passenger ferry Bay Belle with Sam as skipper went out and held her spotlight on the couple until the helicopter came and airflifted the couple to Whangarei Hospital.
We were asked to go out and dive the Three Amigos and see if we could penetrate the wreck and obtain their personal belongings.
The sea had been pretty high due to the recent storms this past week, and by the time we got there, the deck was separated from the hull and the boys were hanging onto the railings from grim death – at one stage they only had 1 to 2 feet of water on top of them when the exceptionally big swells of 2.5 metres slammed over them all.
We pulled the pin as it was too dangerous, feeling absolutely miserable as we were unable to get inside one of the cabins, where Merv and Gaeleens’ lifelong possessions were stashed.
The saddest part of this day, is knowing that these wonderful people have not just lost a yacht – the Three Amigos was their home and their only possession.
We wish you both a speedy recovery,
Filed under: freinds, local news, photography, reality, wreck
