Boxing Kangaroo - Crew medevac, then a solo skipper rescued: two maydays from a Cook Strait yacht
After one of two crew aboard the 11-metre Boxing Kangaroo fell seriously ill off Cape Palliser, Coastguard ran an overnight medical evacuation; the skipper stayed on alone, conditions worsened, and the Navy and Air Force rescued him a day later.
What happened.
In Cook Strait around 20-21 May 2026, the 11-metre yacht Boxing Kangaroo issued two maydays. First, a seriously ill crew member was evacuated off Cape Palliser in an overnight, 82-nautical-mile Coastguard operation. The skipper then stayed aboard alone; as conditions worsened he became lost and called again. An RNZAF P-8A Poseidon found the boat near Baring Head and HMNZS Taupo rescued him before midnight. Both men survived.
The trouble began on a Wednesday evening in Cook Strait, about seven nautical miles southeast of Cape Palliser, when one of the two crew aboard the 11-metre yacht Boxing Kangaroo fell seriously ill and a mayday was relayed. Coastguard volunteers launched at 8:30pm and made an eight-hour, 82-nautical-mile round trip in the dark, handing the sick man to Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics at 4am. With his crewmate ashore, the skipper decided to remain on board alone and carry on. But conditions in the strait quickly deteriorated, and by the following afternoon — Thursday 21 May 2026 — the solo sailor had become lost and put out a second, critical mayday. A multi-agency search swung into action. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon pinpointed the yacht from the air near Baring Head at 10:22pm, and HMNZS Taupo, about forty minutes' sail away, made straight for it. Shortly before midnight, navy personnel took the skipper off by sea boat to safety aboard the warship. Both men came through unhurt — but the episode turned a single medical emergency into two separate maydays and a major air-sea search inside twenty-four hours.
What it teaches.
- 1A medevac can leave the boat dangerously short-handed. Once a crew member is taken off, whoever remains may be single-handing in worsening weather. Plan the whole vessel's recovery, not just the patient's: consider taking the boat into shelter at the same time rather than carrying on alone.
- 2Cook Strait and similar tidal gateways can deteriorate fast. Get an honest forecast before committing to press on, and treat a sudden worsening as a reason to seek shelter early — not something to ride out single-handed once you are already tired and offshore.
- 3Calling early saved this skipper. He issued a second mayday once he was lost, and a P-8A and a navy ship found him in the dark. Carry and use a reliable alert — VHF, EPIRB or PLB — and call while you still can, rather than waiting until the situation is dire.
Where this comes from.
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