Skipper saved from sinking yacht

A man has been rescued from his sinking yacht in a five-hour operation near Tasmania's northeast coast.

Police and Australian Search and Rescue were called to the aid of the stricken 7.6m yacht when it began taking on water near Flinders Island. The yacht, skippered by a NSW man and bound from Eden, on the NSW far south coast, to Hobart, is believed to have struck a submerged object. Police said sea temperatures were so cold and rough the man would not have survived for long if he had been forced into the ocean. He had contacted emergency services and reported his vessel would sink by 11pm (AEDT) yesterday. The yacht was not carrying a life raft. The rescue involved three boats, rescue aircraft and a rescue helicopter from Victoria. The man was taken to Flinders Island about 2am.
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