Nelson Police are urging people to take care on the water after a man got into trouble after being caught out unprepared on a yachting trip in which his vessel capsized.
According to police, a 27-year-old man attempted to sail an old 12 foot Hobie Cat catamaran from Nelson Harbour to Jacket Island near Motueka last Wednesday.
Sergeant Malcom York said in a statement halfway through the attempted journey, the catamaran was capsized by a wind gust and the yachtsman ended up in the water.
Police said he then spent about two hours in the water trying to right the yacht.
Sergeant York said the yachtsman was "lucky" a member of the public on the Port Hills spotted him in the water through his telescope.
Police said the "most concerning" aspect was that apart from the life jacket the yachtsman was wearing, there was no other safety gear on board.
According to police, he had no way of communicating. No radio, cell phone, distress flares, a personal locator beacon or a light of any description.
Sergeant York said the yachtsman was incredibly lucky to have come out of the ordeal unscathed.
"If weather and tide conditions had not been so favourable, the outcome could have been tragic.
"Even for a vessel of that size when undertaking a journey of that length and distance from the shore, the yachtsman should have carried a small handheld marine VHF radio or a cell phone in a waterproof bag, and distress flares or a personal locator beacon.
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