Four Sailors Rescued After Sperm Whale Sinks Yacht in South Pacific
The crew of the Tai Tam spent nearly 18 hours adrift after their vessel was crippled by a whale before being picked up by a container ship.
Four sailors fought for survival for nearly 18 hours after a sperm whale struck their yacht, causing it to sink in the South Pacific. The incident occurred 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island.
The crew of the 52-foot yacht, Tai Tam, reported a loud thud followed by the vessel being pushed sideways. Australian Jemma Cooper, who was at the helm, was thrown from her steering wheel and observed a brown discoloration in the water, followed by the appearance of a sperm whale. Her husband, Jeremy Cooper, who was sleeping below deck, was awakened by the impact.
"It was pretty immediately evident it was very serious," Jeremy Cooper told AFP. "All the steering gear was smashed on the starboard side, and there was a significant amount of water coming in."
At 1 p.m. New Zealand time on Saturday, approximately 30 minutes after the collision, the sailors activated an emergency beacon, declaring a "mayday." The crew spent several hours attempting to bail water from the rapidly sinking vessel.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force dispatched a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane to the area to establish radio contact and coordinate rescue efforts.
French crew member Martin Jaffre, a joiner, described the collision as leaving several gashes in the hull, cracking the fiberglass structure, and destroying the steering mechanism. "We could no longer steer the boat, and a boat with no steering quickly becomes a problem," he told AFP.
Jaffre worked to slow the influx of water using materials like expansion foam and swam beneath the boat to assess the hull damage. The sailors attempted to remain aboard for as long as possible, trying to prevent the engine from becoming clogged and continuing to bail water manually.
Late that night, in calm seas and under a full moon, the crew abandoned the yacht and transferred to a life raft. In the early hours of Sunday morning, they cut the tether connecting them to the yacht, fearing it might drag them down, and the vessel subsequently sank.
A passing container ship, the MV Sofrana Surville, rescued the four sailors at 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, about 18 hours after the encounter with the sperm whale. Jeremy Cooper described the rescue itself as frightening due to the large size of the container ship approaching their small life raft. Within 30 minutes, the sailors had boarded the ship, received coffee, and spoken with the captain.
"It was wonderful, wonderful, and just a terrible, terrible ending - but luckily no loss of life," Jemma Cooper stated.