An Irishman and his partner rescued after their yacht capsized in "waves the size of buildings" some 200 nautical miles (370km) off Sydney remain undeterred on their journey.
Nick Dwyer (55) and his French partner Barbara Heftman (44) were sailing from New Zealand to Australia as part of their 10-year cruise around the world when they encountered a severe storm .
They sailed for three days without a rudder until “enormous seas” and gale-force winds forced them to activate an emergency radio beacon on Tuesday.
A police rescue boat, Nemesis, travelled 370km to rescue the pair and bring them to Sydney, unhurt, late on Wednesday night.
Mr Dwyer, a former sailor at the Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, said they feared for their lives.
Assistance
“It wasn’t really until the low hit us and we got capsized that we felt we really couldn’t survive this one without assistance. We weren’t sure whether we were going to be rolled again and each time a wave hit, we thought, ‘this is the one that’s going to take us’,” he said.
“We encountered enormous seas, waves the size of buildings coming at you constantly, winds that you can’t stand up in, seas breaking, whiteness everywhere, the beautiful glory of terror facing you, and your boat turns upside down.
“You’re there for a moment and at one point Barbara and I were waiting after the boat turned upside-down, hugging each other for a split second that seemed to last for an eternity, [thinking] ‘is she going to turn upright’, and she did. To go out on those seas and experience that is truly humbling.
“I really think that the crew of the Nemesis, who went out there knowing what they were going out to, to look after complete strangers, really are absolute heroes. There is enormous gratitude felt and indebtedness by Barbara and I for the courage that has been shown.”
‘Terrifying experience’
“We are extremely lucky. If those guys [had not come] we might still be there . . . or above,” Ms Heftman said, pointing to the sky. “I’m glad they came. They are good people, good guys.”
However, the terrifying experience has not deterred the couple from trying to continue their adventure . The couple plan to stay in Sydney for the moment, while their yacht is retrieved. Sarah Byrne, Mr Dwyer’s sister, said the couple would “absolutely” return to their journey of circumnavigating the globe.
"Yes, they will go back out there. They are seriously hoping to retrieve Val, Val being the boat, but they don't know if that will be achievable," Ms Byrne told RTÉ News at One.
“But even if they don’t I’m sure they will continue living the dream in another boat.”
Mr Dwyer said they were very grateful to the police who rescued them. “There’s a crew of guys who were not on duty and all volunteered, knowing what sort of seas they were going out to, to rescue two complete strangers,” he said.
“They’re complete heroes. It’s truly amazing to think that somebody would come that far to save us, to save our lives.”
Sgt Paul Farquharson told ABC radio that the couple was ecstatic to see the rescue team.
“They gave us a hug and pretty much knelt down on the ground and were happy to be on some sort of tidy ground,” he said.
“They’d been bobbing around on a 40-foot boat for the last four days and spent the last ten years at sea, so to hop on board our boat was a bit of a luxury for them.”
