trans tasman kayaker abandons crossing

[wayno]

so close, yet so far

Kayaker Scott Donaldson has abandoned his attempt to cross the Tasman Sea after being injured in horrendous conditions last night.

Donaldson suffered injuries to his face and chest overnight when his kayak rolled three times and the restraint he uses inside the cabin failed.

The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre confirmed Donaldson has requested a rescue today.

A spokeswoman said a rescue helicopter was preparing to go out to reach him at his location around 90km west of Pungarehu adjacent to the west coast of Taranaki.

Senior Search and Rescue officer for the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) Kevin Banaghan said Donaldson was expected to be winched from his kayak by mid-afternoon.

Mr Banaghan said Donaldson had "declared his situation unsafe"

A rescue helicopter was preparing to depart from New Plymouth with a winch operator and a medic/swimmer on board.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11291819

[walkerchris77]

At least he had the common sense to declare his situation unsafe and get help. He can always try another time

[Tortoise]

Wayno, do you know if there's a good reason he tried this time of year? Can't remember if it was an earlier attempt or somebody else's in May one year. Feb/Mar would make more sense to me in terms of less likely horrendous conditions. But maybe the Tasman has it's own idiosyncrasies?

[wayno]

he made a comment about favourable currents.. castrisson (sic) made a comment he was stuck in an area where there are a lot of big standing waves, where the sea floor comes up from a couple of k deep to a shallow under water shelf, so thers a lot of current upwelling going on
donaldson gave an interview and said he didnt abandon because of injury. his power chargers had failed and he was in danger of loosing all his comms and with more severe weather it was safer to pull the pin..

i think he was lucky, the weather has been generally relatively mild up till now for the time of year, i've seen so much sun i've still got a tan.... he could easily have been slammed by a big storm in the middle of the tasman and needed and expensive rescue out there. he said his kayak was showing signs of damage and he wasnt sure how long it would hold together.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/ ... don-battle