Two men were rescued after their 16-metre launch caught fire south west of Raglan, off Aotea Harbour early on the evening of Saturday 21st. February.
Coastguard operations manager Ray Burge said the two Raglan men tried initially to fight the fire but then abandoned the vessel, climbing into a life raft. He said they used their mobile phone to call for help.
The Coastguard used VHF radio to call in other boats and as it was a calm and warm day, there were a number of vessels closer. One of these boats picked up the two men in less than a quarter of an hour after they abandoned the burning vessel.
The Coastguard also called out the Raglan Volunteer Coastguard vessel to go to the site which was 10 kilometres offshore of Aotea Harbour. When the Coastguard arrived the men were transferred to Gallagher Resceure and taken ashore to be treated by ambulance crew on the scene. One man had sore eyes as a result of smoke but after treatment they went home.
Ray Burge said the boat was presumably burnt to the waterline and probably sank.
Fire Communications said the fire was seen over a wide area of the Waikato coast and they received a large number of emergency calls from 7.30pm on. Raglan Volunteer Fire Fighters were called out at 7.49pm, but were stood down when it was realised the fire was well offshore.