• Yacht race crewman injured off the coast near Napier

Yacht race crewman injured off the coast near Napier

The Coastguard was called out yesterday after a crewman on a yacht taking part in a race to Auckland was injured shortly after the boat left Napier.

Coastguard Hawke's Bay received a request for assistance from Krakatoa II, one of seven yachts taking part in the final Napier to Auckland leg of the Round New Zealand race.

The yachts – each with two people onboard – had begun the leg from Napier to Auckland earlier yesterday.

Coastguard HB posted on Facebook that it met Krakatoa II about 9 miles off the Port of Napier and managed to get two of its crew onboard, one of whom is a doctor and the other a yachtie.

“The sea state was such that it was considered safer to leave the patient on board rather than attempt a transfer back to Celia Knowles (the Coastguard vessel),” the post said.

“We carried out a transfer in the shelter of the Port of Napier and soon had him with an ambulance at our Base.”

Last night the crewman had been checked and discharged from hospital but was “still very sore though”.