A South Australian yachtie says a harrowing 15-hour rescue in rough seas off the New South Wales North Coast has not dashed his hopes of crossing the ocean in the same boat one day.
Darryl Atkins, 56, was rescued alongside crewmate Steve French, 61, on Sunday after the pair became caught in an unexpected storm off Kingscliff.
The sailors were travelling from Queensland home to South Australia in a 38-foot yacht — which Mr Atkins had just bought from Tin Can Bay after years of searching for a similar vessel.
"We had a three-day window of 10 to 15 knots and a less than less than two-metre swell, but that's not what we experienced Saturday night with wind 57 kilometres an hour and the swell got up to well over five metres.
"The boat was up sideways in the swells. There were bits flying around the boat everywhere. We're not sure what caused the windvane to break, we're not sure if it hit a whale or something like that."
With the broken windvane and damaged sail, Mr Atkins said the motor was all they had to "work with".
"We couldn't get ahead of the seas. Even though the wind was behind us we couldn't get in because a big seas were keeping us out," he said.
"We worked our way zigzagging along the bay but we weren't getting any closer to shore.
"Our only choice was to go further to see we're already 40 miles offshore."
In danger but not scared
Mr Atkins told ABC News despite the six-metre waves, sheer darkness, a faulty windvane and howling wind that shredded the mainsail, he was not scared during the treacherous ordeal.
"People have asked me at home, you know, you escaped, weren't you scared? At any point, the boat will handle a lot more than that storm had," he said.
"But we were in danger. We couldn't get in. We couldn't get out. And we needed to get into fix things up."
The interstate truck driver who has been sailing for about three years said the crew had no phone reception and could not get hold of the coastguard on their radio.
"So we managed to get hold of a ship passing the other way and they passed on the message," Mr Atkins said.
"The alternator went and we had no lights. We were actually in the dark."
Plans to cross ocean
He said he had been searching for the boat for some time, as he wanted a vessel he could take on a big trip out to sea.
"In a six-metre swell when it walks up the swell the boat actually comes up to 90 degrees. The lighter boats wouldn't handle that. That's why I bought such a heavy boat, because I intend to cross the ocean in it," Mr Atkins said.
Mr French, who was also on the boat, accompanied Mr Atkins only so he could rest during the journey.
"We just didn't expect it [to happen]. It was just out of the ordinary and we slept all day yesterday because we didn't sleep for two days."
Police praised for dangerous rescue
The rescued boaties have praised Tweed Heads Water Police for their efforts, which saw one officer hospitalised.
"What they did was above and beyond," Mr Atkins said.
"They deserve a commendation for that actually because they didn't have to help us and they did so out of their own goodwill."
Sergeant Andrew Parker from Tweed Heads Water Police said the sailors were equipped with all the latest safety gear.
"They attempted to make way by engine, however that also ended up with a mechanical failure," he said.
The pair tried to get closer to the coastline where there was mobile reception to raise the alarm, but deteriorating conditions forced them to make a distress call at about lunchtime on Sunday.
Tweed Heads Water Police reached the vessel at about 3pm on Sunday.
"They had a strong north to north-east winds and swell, which made it very difficult to tow back," Sergeant Parker said.
He said conditions worsened when a southerly front came through, causing opposing winds and seas.
The towline snapped a number of times.
"Then it was a battle during the night to reattach the towline in 30-knot winds," Sergeant Parker said.
He praised the efforts of the two men onboard during the extremely violent conditions.
"They were already severely fatigued and did a splendid job at getting out onto the bow to receive the towline from the police vessel," Sergeant Parker said.
'Extremely fatiguing'
One of the police offers was unwell but continued working until he collapsed.
"It's extremely fatiguing, because each time the towline breaks the workers on the deck have to retrieve it," Sergeant Parker said.
"It's extremely heavy and has to be pulled through the vessel and then has to go beam-on in those conditions, which is dreadful to be in the wheel house.
"You're thrown around like a rag doll."
Tweed Heads Water Police decided the Tweed bar was too dangerous to cross in the conditions and towed the yacht to Southport in Queensland instead.
They arrived at about 6:30am yesterday.
The injured officer, who was suffering from dehydration, exhaustion and a back injury, was taken to Tweed Heads Hospital in a stable condition.
Police said an inspection of the yacht found it had more than the required safety equipment and was in good condition.
"They possibly made poor decisions on being out there initially," Sergeant Parker said.
"But all the directions that were given and all their decision-making after the incident started was excellent."
The crew is expected to remain in Southport until the yacht is repaired.
