Two people have been rescued after a terrifying night at sea as six-meter (20-foot) waves tossed their stricken yacht nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers) off Australia\u2019s eastern coast as they drifted at speed towards New Zealand. <\/p>\n
Authorities were first alerted to the crew\u2019s crisis around 1pm on Monday, when they deployed a distress beacon, but it was hours before the first rescue helicopters located the vessel. <\/p>\n
The 20-meter yacht, the Spirit of Mateship, had lost power and communications and was being hit by winds of up to 90 kilometers an hour (56 mph) as well as waves up to six meters high. <\/p>\n
\u201c(The helicopter\u2019s crew) were able to fly above the yacht, and they could communicate via radio to the yacht, but they were unable to pick them up,\u201d said Ben Flight, duty manager at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Response Center. <\/p>\n
Another rescue attempt was later abandoned due to rough seas, forcing the two people \u2013 a man, 60, and woman, 48 \u2013 to spend what Flight described as a \u201chorrible\u201d night at sea. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t injured, but the vessel had suffered a mechanical issue of some kind, and they couldn\u2019t steer, and they couldn\u2019t make their own way through the water, so they were drifting, and they were taking on water as well. So, they were in quite a serious situation,\u201d said Flight. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were sort of just at the mercy of the elements. They would have been moving around quite uncomfortably. It would have been particularly windy, noisy, probably quite wet as well.\u201d <\/p>\n
Two Australian Navy ships \u2013 HMAS Arunta and HMAS Canberra \u2013 answered calls for help, as well as Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft, according to the Australian Defence Force (ADF). <\/p>\n
The ships, along with a nearby merchant vessel, monitored the yacht\u2019s location overnight, and the rescue resumed in the early hours of the morning, when conditions had eased. <\/p>\n
NSW Police vessel Nemesis arrived at the yacht about 3 a.m. Tuesday and deployed a smaller boat to rescue the sailors around 7:30 a.m. in choppy seas with swells of four meters to five meters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t imagine they would have got any rest overnight, so I imagine they\u2019d be quite tired and very relieved to be rescued,\u201d Flight said. <\/p>\n
Flight said the outcome would have been much worse if the crew hadn\u2019t deployed the distress beacon, which issues a satellite alert to advise the rescue coordination center of their location. <\/p>\n
The Spirit of Mateship has competed in the prestigious Sydney to Hobart yacht race several times, crewed by wounded veterans and army personnel. <\/p>\n
Together they raised money to support army veterans. However, the yacht has changed hands since then, according to Flight. <\/p>\n
The rescued sailors are expected to arrive back in Sydney Tuesday night after a 12-hour voyage. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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