\u201cWe don\u2019t normally get nice boats or any boats mooring off the tip of that island.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 4.45pm this afternoon, Coastguard NZ confirmed it was alerted to a yacht with three people and two dogs on board that had run up against rocks at Opito Bay in Northland.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn arrival, they found the vessel had taken on water, but all people and pets were safely ashore, with the skipper assessing the damage from a dinghy. Volunteers assisted with securing the vessel at the scene,\u201d a Coastguard NZ spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vessel has since sunk at the entrance to Opito Bay in the Kerikeri Inlet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reeves said everybody returning to the bay from a day of fishing was stopping to look at the sinking vessel.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is turning up in their little dingies, stopping to check it out because they\u2019re probably wondering if there are people on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reeves said locals were also walking on the rocks around the bay to get a look.<\/p>\n
Three people and two dogs escaped to shore after their boat collided with rocks in Northland. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
He guessed there was an air bubble inside the boat, causing the slow sinking. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why, by the time it comes to the morning, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it was above water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reeves didn\u2019t see anyone nearby who may have been on the boat. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen all the things float off it. It\u2019s very unusual to have a nice launch just dumped there and sinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He told the Herald the vessel was a two-deck launch, roughly 12m long. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it were my boat worth a couple of hundred grand, I would be on those rocks, crying, watching it.\u201d<\/p>\n