Tall ship to the rescue
Picton Castle answers distress callWhen the 42ft sloop Gobo put out a distress in the Cook Islands recently, the crew didn’t expect the boat responding would be a 170ft square rigger, but over the horizon came the three-masted barque Picton Castle.
Gobo was experiencing engine trouble and had damaged rigging when their call for assistance was picked up by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ).
The Picton Castle was deemed to be the closest vessel outside of a few fishing boats, and the only ship offering the yacht’s crew an alternative to abandoning their vessel.
Sailing under the command of Capt. Michael Moreland, the Picton Castle was en route between Manihiki and Aitutaki when the call for assistance came in.
Capt. Moreland immediately ordered the vessel’s crew to take in the sails and fire up the main engine. It would take 29 hours to reach the stricken yacht.
Arriving at daybreak the Picton Castle launched her rescue boat at 0730, dispatching the vessel’s Chief Mate and Chief Engineer to assess the situation and assist as necessary.
Chief mate Paul Bracken repaired the rigging while chief engineer Alex Marts made repairs to the raw water pump and installed an electric auxiliary bilge pump.
With these repairs, no towing was required, and the yacht was able to carry on with their planned passage.
Picton Castle also resumed her passage to Aitutaki. She will then sail to Rarotonga, then on Sydney for the International Fleet Review in October.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
