New information has emerged on the ordeal endured by the crew of a shipwrecked boat the day it got into difficulty in rough seas off the East Coast.
Built in the 1950s, San Rosa was originally used as a fishing trawler by Sanford Ltd. It had left Tauranga two days prior to running into difficulty. Photo: Gisborne Herald / Liam Clayton via LDR
On 9 April, ex-fishing trawler San Rosa sent out a mayday about 10 nautical miles off the coast of Tokomaru Bay while battling four-metre swells.
The three crew members were winched to safety by helicopter, along with their dog, but the San Rosa was left to drift at sea during ex-tropical cyclone Fili.
It washed up on a remote section of beach near Tikitiki six days later.
Almost three months on, Gisborne District Council harbourmaster Peter Buell has not been able to contact the owners, who remain responsible for its removal.
He is looking to recoup costs by selling the boat to a third party.
Now information acquired under the Official Information Act indicates the crew were out of their depth in the midst of their boating nightmare.
According to communication logs between Maritime New Zealand and the vessel, the San Rosa sent out a mayday at 6.25am on the morning of 9 April, saying they had lost power.
About half an hour after the call, a person onboard told Maritime Operations Centre he was inexperienced and advised the wind was picking up, but couldn't explain its speed or from which direction.
The boat was drifting by this point and the crew had requested a tow.
Local Democracy Reporting understands San Rosa had been bought four days earlier in Tauranga and was en route to the Marlborough region.
It was two days into its voyage when it struck difficulty.
The inside of San Rosa has been stripped since washing ashore, but Gisborne District Council harbourmaster Peter Buell indicated the boat was still salvageable. Photo: Gisborne Herald / Liam Clayton via LDR
According to Maritime New Zealand's communication trail, enlisting the help of the previous owner for the rescue was off the cards because the person had "gone bush" following the sale.
With that in mind, the skipper was prepared to pay for someone to rescue San Rosa and was informed by Maritime Operations Centre any towing or assistance with fixing the boat would be a commercial arrangement they would need to pay for.
They were also told they could be removed from the vessel if they felt unsafe but would have to abandon the boat.
At 9.25am the sea was becoming increasingly rough and a crew member was injured after being hit in the face by a swinging rope. Waiting on a tow was still the plan.
At 11am that all changed when the crew became fearful the boat might roll.
The dinghy was prepared, a sail went up to try to swing the boat around and the anchor was cut for fear it would tear off the back of the boat.
At 12.45pm the crew requested immediate evacuation and a helicopter pulled them off soon after, returning them to dry land in Gisborne.
While the rescue made headlines at the time, the fallout has taken on a drama of its own.
Even though a salvage mission looked possible at the time, contacting the owners has proved a seemingly impossible task for harbourmaster Buell. Repeated phone calls and messages have come up empty and newspaper ads have proved unsuccessful.
The San Rosa was an ex-fishing trawler that got into difficulty off the coast of Tokomaru Bay in April 2022. It washed up on the beach at Tikitiki six days later, and has remained there ever since. Photo: Gisborne Herald / Liam Clayton via LDR
In May, a public notice was listed in The Gisborne Herald and Nelson Mail warning the owners the boat needed to be removed from East Coast waters by the end of the week or the council would take matters into its own hands.
Failure to act as required could incur a penalty of up to 12 months imprisonment or a fine of up to $10,000 under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, it said.
But the San Rosa has remained grounded, slowly eroding as more of it goes missing at the hands of opportunistic members of the public.
Inspecting the boat for the first time on 3 May, Buell said there was minor damage and the boat's engine compartment was still reasonably dry.
The vessel as a whole did not look "too bad", he said.
Buell last week said two groups were interested in the vessel and had been given time to see if they could produce a workable plan for its removal.
It was unlikely at this point that the owner would come forward, he said.
The San Rosa is an 18-metre wooden boat built in 1955 for fishing company Sanford Ltd.
The costs of the rescue to Maritime NZ were from Search and Rescue Services Ltd and Coastguard NZ, but the overseeing body would not divulge how much it came to out of concern it could prejudice the commercial position of both parties.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air