A yacht owned by a Kiwi shipwrecked in Fiji on a reef says his charts of nautical told him that the reef was at the distance of about 5km when the boat hit it. The name of the yacht is Jungle and it has four sailors from New Zealand when it ran aground, stranding them on a remote atoll.
The four people who were aboard were Geoff Marsland, he is the founder of iconic Havana Coffee of Wellington, and Roger Young the co-owner of Fidel Cafe were aboard and both were accompanied by the Peter McLean the yacht owner and his son. The yacht was bound for Tonga and it left Picton on June 15. The tack was changed by the crew for Fiji when the backstay of the boat got broke.
Early on Friday, the yacht hit the reef off Tuvana-I-Ra isolated, which is located over 400km from the capital of Fiji, Suva. Though, the men managed to take the boat at the ashore, but the boat was damaged up on the reef. The yacht had previously been available for a Yacht Charter in Scotland
About this experience, Marsland told that the incident was like “Survivor in real life”. The Kiwis were saved by the inhabitants of the island who initially thought they were armed pirates, but when they knew that they were Kiwis, the give them all the treatment.
In an interview, Peter McLean the owner of yacht said there was a high tide when sailors were navigating the reef. “The radar and plotter both said we were about three miles off from the reef, but the two plotters were incorrect by three miles. And this is the reason we hit the edge of the reef,” he said. “The charts present at the crew desk were outdated, they need to be updated. The incident would have never happened if the charts were correct.”
All four are now safe and well in Suva, the New Zealand High Commission said. High Commissioner Mark Ramsden says the men were looked after very well by the Fiji Navy and had not requested consular assistance with accommodation or flights home.