6hr tow of yacht from Wellington south coast

38ft steel yacht got it's anchor stuck near Makara/Ohau. Whilst manoeuvring to release it they overheated the engine. They were unable to sail due to low wind and inexperience, so ended up drifting south in the strong currents. By the time we got to them they had drifted 10NM into Cook Strait, south of Karori Rock through the Karori Rip. It took us 5hrs to tow them back to Mana, by which point the tide was at it's lowest point. We had to put them on the mooring just outside the bar and then return the passenger back to base, leaving the skipper aboard. We got back to base at around 6pm and then waited until 8pm and went out and picked him up and returned him to his berth in the marina. All up, this was a 12hr door-to-door job for the crew.

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