Two Kiwi sailors had just seconds to grab life jackets and abandon their burning yacht after being woken by their skipper at midnight in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The 50 ft SV Sunny Deck was on its way from Acapulco, Mexico to Auckland when it caught fire about half way between Rarotonga and Tonga. On board were owner Murray Vereker-Bindon, 70, and crewman Michael Boyd, 68 from Hamilton and Victor Campos, a 35-year-old professional skipper from Mexico.
Mr Vereker-Bindon’s son Andrew Bindon told the Herald his father purchased the yacht last year.
Sailing it from Mexico, where he lives with his wife Yolanda, home to New Zealand was his dream.
“My stepmother is Mexican and they bought the boat just over a year ago. They were supposed to do the trip this time last year but they didn’t have all the right stuff – life rafts and that sort of thing – so they postponed it until now.
