'Loud thud': Sperm whale sinks yacht in South Pacific
WELLINGTON: A sperm whale cracked the hull of a yacht sailing in the remote South Pacific, forcing four sailors into a day-and-night fight for survival on the high seas.
In the remote South Pacific, a sperm whale struck the hull of a 16-metre yacht, leaving its four crew members battling for survival on the high seas. The yacht, named Tai Tam, was 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island when the collision occurred. Jemma Cooper, an Australian sailor, recounted the loud thud that sent her flying from the steering wheel.
She noticed a brown discoloration in the water and identified a pod of sperm whales. Her husband, Jeremy, awoke below deck to the severity of the impact, which had smashed the steering gear on the starboard side and allowed water to flood into the vessel. They activated an emergency beacon at 1 pm New Zealand time on Saturday, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force dispatched a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane to assist in the rescue.
The collision left several gashes in the hull, cracked the fibreglass structure, and rendered the yacht unsteerable. The sailors attempted to slow the water influx with makeshift materials and swam below the boat to inspect the damage. After a night of struggling to keep the engine unblocked and bailing water by hand, they abandoned the yacht and transferred to a life raft under the light of a full moon.
At dawn, a 143-metre container ship, the MV Sofrana Surville, rescued the survivors, nearly 18 hours after their harrowing encounter with the sperm whale. Despite the ordeal, no lives were lost.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
