One sailor spent a perilous night stuck on his yacht off the coast of Hawke’s Bay with no mast or working engine as many stayed inside away from the nasty weather.

A spokesperson for the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand said they received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert from a yacht 60 nautical miles (111 km) east-south-east of Hastings at 5.15pm on Wednesday.

The 10-metre yacht had rolled in heavy weather, breaking the mast which left the solo sailor needing assistance to cut the rigging free so he could motor back to Napier.

The spokesperson said the situation worsened as the night progressed due to the engine failing and the sailor eventually requested assistance to abandon his vessel.

 “A Talley’s trawler AMATAL APOLLO, assisted by a NZ Container vessel and a New Zealand Defence Force DF C-130 Hercules, transferred the sailor onboard their vessel in extremely challenging weather conditions,” the spokesperson said.

The rescue was completed at 10am on Thursday, but the sailor remains at sea for now.

“The sailor was cold and weathered but okay, he will be remaining on board and they currently looking at options to transfer him ashore,” the spokesperson said.