SA: Rescued yachtsman still in hospital

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2000
SA: Rescued yachtsman still in hospital

ADELAIDE, April 1 AAP - Twelve people were winched to safety in a dramatic rescue operation
after one of Australia's fastest racing yachts capsized in heavy seas.

The Doctel Rager, considered South Australia's fastest ocean racer, sounded the alarm
when it ran into difficulty off Yorke Peninsula, 10km west of Stenhouse Bay, about 8pm
last night.

Rescue helicopters found 12 men, women and children clinging to the yacht's upturned
hull as it was tossed around in the ocean, only 50 metres from a sheer cliff face, Australian
Search and Rescue (AusSAR) said in a statement.

Experts feared the 17m yacht, a veteran of 10 Sydney to Hobart races, would today be
smashed to pieces on the cliffs where it capsized.

Disaster struck last night as the yacht made its way back to Adelaide from Port Lincoln
after its handicap win in the annual Adelaide-Port Lincoln race last week.

As the upturned vessel was pitched about in rough seas, whipped up by 20-knot winds,
the crew sounded their distress beacon.

Two Lloyds helicopters from Adelaide were sent to the scene and emergency broadcasts
made to all vessels in the area.

It took two and a half hours to winch them all to safety in two groups, AusSAR said.

"They owe their lives to the distress beacon and the skill of the Lloyds helicopter
crews," the spokesman said in a statement.

Ages were mot immediately available for the crew, but at least two were believed to be children.

One man, in his 40s, from the Adelaide suburb of Lynton, was one of three people admitted
to the Royal Adelaide Hospital early this morning.

He was in a stable condition after being treated for chest injuries, a hospital spokesman said.

The other two people, whose age and sex were not known, had been treated for minor
injuries and then discharged, the spokesman said.

"They had knocks on the knees and other bruises, and had suffered from hypothermia
but otherwise were fine," he said.

"The man, who is still here, probably will be discharged later today."

Those rescued all had life jackets but no life raft was spotted near or on the yacht,
the AusSAR spokesman said.

While the crew had a lucky escape, the famous yacht is unlikely to survive the incident.

"It's expected to break up and sink during the day," a spokesman said.

AAP tj/ej

KEYWORD: RESCUE NIGHTLEAD

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