Unhappy arrival for yachtie after thieves take gear

Thieves scuppered the arrival of Brisbane yachtie Trevor Hill soon after he sailed in to Port Taranaki on Monday for the 2010 solo Tasman yacht race.

Hill is the first to arrive for the event which starts on April 4 and made landfall with Aussie crewmates, Trent Latter and Hugh Bekkers, about 4.30pm.

"After we cleared Customs, we motored ashore in our dinghy and went in to the city for a meal. When we returned, someone had stolen the outboard motor and a safety harness," the 34-year-old said.

"The walk back from our meal was long enough, but the row back to the yacht was longer."

His 12m sloop, Apriori, is moored about 400m from the lee breakwater and the trio left the dinghy tied up to the jetty next to the main boat ramp.

"It's pretty disappointing as I had borrowed the motor and just spent a heap doing it up. Now I'll have to replace it with a new one."

Of equal concern was the loss of the harness, which doubled as a life jacket and contained an emergency locator beacon, a strobe light and a knife.

The thieves had set off the beacon and the signal was picked up in Australia, but family and friends were quickly assured the yachties were OK.

"The jacket is vital if you go overboard or are swept out to sea in the dinghy," he said.

The combined value of the stolen gear was about $2200.

Despite the theft, Mr Hill was looking forward to the Fitzroy Yachts solo trans-Tasman challenge.

"I have wanted to sail this since I was 13, so it has taken a while. But I have now got the right boat and have had three years to get some sailing experience with it."

The trio took eight days to get here after heading to Lord Howe Island first and then to New Plymouth.

"I'm heading back to Australia for work in the next day or so and will return for the race about April 2," the corporate financier said.

Mr Latter would remain with the $120,000 yacht until his return. "He's got a bit of rowing ahead of him," Mr Hill said.

The chairman of the race organising committee, Ron Scott, was disappointed at the theft and said it was a "bad look" for New Plymouth.

The rest of the 19 entrants were expected to arrive in dribs and drabs over the next few weeks.

"One of them, Jenny Fitzgibbon, is on her way from Mooloolaba and wants to be here in time for Womad [March 12-14]," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News