The skipper of a dismasted family yacht broke down today as he recalled the sight of a rescue aircraft circling overhead above the stricken boat.
Charles Bradfield, wife Joy, and their six children made it safely back on dry land in Auckland this morning after being picked up in the Pacific Ocean by a French naval vessel yesterday.
The family were on the return leg of a two-month trip to Tonga when their 12.8-metre yacht, Carenza, lost its mast 200 nautical miles north of New Zealand on Tuesday after several days of bad weather.
They made a mayday call and set off an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (Epirb).
Mr Bradfield, a Auckland City Hospital anaesthetist and amateur radio enthusiast, also used a fishing line to make an aerial to get in touch with the Taupo maritime radio base.
An RNZAF C130 Hercules was sent, located the family and contacted the New Zealand-bound French naval patrol craft La Glorieuse, which changed its course.
"That was an amazing experience," Mr Bradfield, his voice breaking, said of seeing the aircraft.
"We set off a flare and they identified us. They circled overhead and they remained circling until the French Navy were there."
La Glorieuse arrived three hours later but was it too dark to transfer Mr and Mrs Bradfield and their children - Josh, 18, Matt, 16, Emma, 14, Tom, 13, Abby, 10, and Rebekah, 6 - from the yacht.
Mr Bradfield said seeing the ship nearby throughout the night also provided plenty of emotion.
"We decided that our vessel was still safe and we would remain on board through the night and they would maintain a vigil," he said.
"So they circled our vessel for the night until daybreak."
Because of the damage to the yacht, Mr Bradfield said a decision was made to scupper it and "we hung around to watch our vessel sink".
Of the instant that the mast came down, he remembered that there was a moment of terror when he feared that his two sons on watch, Josh and Tom, might have been hurt.
"The boom in fact missed my youngest son by a few inches," he said.
"By the grace of God we had no injuries on board and we are eternally grateful."
The trip back to Auckland on La Glorieuse was "a fantastic end to the holiday".
"We were welcomed on board," he said.
"We were given hot showers and clothing to wear, and put in the officers' mess.
"We took over the boat. We were given free rein of the vessel. We were up on the bridge whenever we wanted to. It was just fantastic."
Mr Bradfield said what had happened hadn't put off him off ocean sailing and he had every intention of getting another yacht.
"In fact, it's filled me with confidence that we have a fantastic Rescue Co-ordination Centre," he said.
"And the whole principle at sea of people rendering assistance is there."
For the Bradfields, the mishap meant they got home three days earlier than planned.
The rescue didn't delay La Glorieuse's arrival in Auckland. It had been due in today for a four-day stop.
Its skipper, Lieutenant Numa Durbec, said he could imagine how tough it would have been for the family as they went through the patch of bad weather.
His own ship had been through the same rough seas for three days.
The rescue was carried out in 2m high waves and was an emotional experience not just for the family, but also for his crew.
"You never expect that but, at the same time, when you are at sea, you never know what's going to happen," he said.
"That's a big lesson of humility, I guess, that the ocean has taught, not only the Bradfield family, but all French and Kiwi seamen."
NZPA