Last week, a single-handed sailor and his catamaran were caught in the tropical cyclone "Gabrielle". His anchor chain had previously broken, stranding the cat on the Great Barrier Island. However, the strong winds drove the catamaran back out to sea and close to the centre of the cyclone. Which, according to "Nautic Magazine" The 70-year-old skipper had to be rescued by the Royal New Zealand Navy and left his yacht behind.
Initial attempts to rescue the 70-year-old by helicopter failed due to the extreme conditions. The catamaran was exposed to average wind speeds of 60 to 70 knots. According to some reports, the gusts were as high as 80 knots, i.e. almost 150 kilometres per hour. The waves are said to have been around six to eight metres high.
The solo sailor was therefore rescued by a small inflatable boat. Prior to this, the frigate "HMNZS Te Mana" had to wait for suitable conditions to launch its daughter boat for the rescue. The casualty then jumped into the water, two naval divers picked him up and brought him to safety.
Little is currently known about the 71-year-old's condition or that of the catamaran.
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Cyclone Gabrielle claimed at least eleven lives and is possibly the worst in New Zealand's history. It is already the most expensive tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere. The damage caused is currently estimated at around 13 billion New Zealand dollars (7.6 billion euros). As a category 3 cyclone, it had gusts of up to 165 km/h and caused flooding, landslides and power outages. As a result, New Zealand declared a national state of emergency for only the third time. The first time was after the severe earthquakes in Christchurch in 2011, the second at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
