Four sailors were rescued from a life raft in the South Pacific Ocean after their Australian-flagged yacht, the Tai Tam, sank following a collision with a sperm whale on September 26, 2026. The crew drifted for 17 hours before a cargo ship picked them up.
The Whale Strike 250 Nautical Miles North of Norfolk Island
The voyage across the Pacific turned into a sudden fight for survival on the afternoon of September 26, 2026. Sailing in open water roughly 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island and 185 nautical miles southeast of Noumea, New Caledonia, the 51-foot Australian yacht Tai Tam struck a pod of sperm whales. The sea state was settling down under calm conditions when the vessel took a massive blow.
Terry Hetherington, a Kiwi sailor from Wānaka who was crewing on the vessel, recalled the sudden impact while flying home to Otago. He heard very, very loud bang
as the yacht collided with the marine mammal, according to 1News reporting on the ordeal.
“I jumped up, I grabbed the wheel, tried to turn the wheel. There was no movement.”
Terry Hetherington, Kiwi sailor, via 1News
Melbourne couple Jeremy and Jemma Cooper, who owned the yacht and were sailing it back to Opua after a three-month cruising trip around the Fijian Islands, were knocked sideways by the impact. Jemma Cooper described the chaotic scene to international media. I was on the helm, it was a beautiful day. The sea state was settling down, and [we were] knocked sideways,
she said, noting that there were about six whales visible around the boat, including one or two enormous ones as long as the vessel itself.
Damage Control, Mayday Calls, and Abandoning Ship
With the helm completely locked and catastrophic damage letting water pour into the hull, the four-person crew — consisting of two Australians, New Zealander Terry Hetherington, and French national Martin Jaffray — scrambled to save the boat. They spent the initial half-hour assessing the damage, manning pumps, and trying to stem the flow to buy as much time as possible.
Realizing the situation was unrecoverable, Jeremy Cooper triggered their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and issued a Mayday call. Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) received the alert at approximately 1 p.m. local time on Saturday.
The crew kept the sinking yacht afloat for as long as possible before stepping into their life raft. Aerial footage shared by the New Zealand Defence Force showed the vessel’s bow sinking as waves crashed over the deck, the mast half-submerged, and the stern sticking into the air before the yacht vanished entirely beneath the surface.
Seventeen Hours in a Life Raft Guided by Air Surveillance
Once adrift in the life raft, the sailors endured a tense 17-hour wait. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft was dispatched to the area, establishing two-way radio communications with the stranded sailors and helping coordinate nearby vessels. RCCNZ operations manager Mike Clulow praised the preparation of the crew. Newstalk ZB outlined the rescue operation, noting that the P-8A guided the response while ships diverted toward the coordinates.
At approximately 6 a.m. on Sunday, the 143-meter Malta-flagged cargo ship MV Sofrana Surville reached the life raft as the first vessel on the scene. Footage from the rescue showed the small life raft bobbing against the massive hull of the cargo ship as the sailors grabbed onto rope ladders in rolling currents.
Reflections on Preparedness and Multi-Agency Coordination
No injuries were reported among the four crew members. Following their arrival aboard the cargo ship, the sailors were transported to New Caledonia to disembark before catching flights home. Mike Clulow of Maritime New Zealand commended the collaboration between international rescue partners, including the New Zealand Defence Force, Australia’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC Australia), and New Caledonia’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Noumea).
The crew of the yacht did all the right things, and it was unfortunate to have struck a whale in open water. They were well prepared and the early activation of their EPIRB was key to helping get them to safety.
Mike Clulow, Operations Manager at Rescue Coordination Centre, via Scoop
Reflecting on the tight timeline, Hetherington noted that if it had happened 24 hours beforehand, the outcome could be significantly different,
while Jemma Cooper described the emotional weight of stepping safely onto the deck of the container ship.