A 77-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman are in hospital after being rescued from their boat which ran into rocks near Whangarei.
The 12-metre yacht issued a distress call at 6pm on Saturday but rescuers have been unable to reach the crew Photo: Supplied / Coastguard Northern Region
The pair made a distress call shortly after 6pm on Saturday after running into rough sea conditions.
They asked to be airlifted from the boat, but five metre swells made it unsafe, and another rescue attempt was planned for today.
However, Coastguard operations manager Ray Burge said the boat hit rocks just north of the Whangarei Harbour entrance this morning.
Mr Burge said the rescued pair were exhausted but safe.
Northland rescue helicopter pilot Steve Couchman said they went to the boat three times but swells made the first two rescue attempts impossible.
Mr Couchman said it was likely police would investigate the incident.
