Broken down yacht assisted into marina

A 35ft yacht with 3 people on board ran into difficulty when their engine broke down at Cape Jackson, at the head of Queen Charlotte Sound. They then had to make the decision whether to attempt to sail into Marlborough Sounds, sail across Cook Strait and moor up in the lee of Mana Island or attempt to get back into Mana Marina where their berth is. They decided to request assistance from Coastguard Mana to get back into Mana Marina as there was strong wind forecast for later that evening, followed by a southerly the following day.

Coastguard Mana deployed two rescue vessels to rendaevouz with the yacht near Titahi Bay. CRV Trust Porirua Rescue [2] passed them a towline and proceeded to tow them back towards Mana Marina while CRV Pelorus [3] attached themselves to the stern of the vessel to act as a brake and to manouvre the stern.

Due to the weight of the vessel (approximately 8 ton) it was decided to tow it into Mana Marina with a short tow line astern rather than raft them up alongside. Pelorus remained attached to the stern and TPR shortened the tow before taking them in through the marina entrance, whilst compensating for very strong tidal current through the channel plus wind, and pulling them up to the breastwork (jetty/wall) outside Mana Cruising Club. Shore-based team members assisted to get lines to the vessel and pull them in while Pelorus acted as a brake and nudged their stern into the breastwork.

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