Who were the sailors who survived 18 hours after sperm whales sank their yacht

A weekend voyage in the South Pacific became a fight for survival after the yacht Tai Tam collided with a whale and started flooding. The four people aboard eventually abandoned the vessel and spent around 18 hours in a life raft before the container ship MV Sofrana Surville reached them.

The sailors are two Australians, a New Zealander and a French national. Their accounts state the collision, the damage to the yacht, their attempts to keep it afloat and the eventual rescue.

Jemma Cooper Was at the Helm

Australian Jemma Cooper was steering the Tai Tam when the collision happened. She said a loud impact forced the yacht sideways and knocked her away from the steering wheel.


After finding a brown discoloration in the water, she saw a sperm whale nearby.

Sailors aboard the rescue ship told New Zealand’s 1News that a pod of what appeared to be four or five sperm whales was nearby before the yacht was struck. The yacht's owners also believed sperm whales were involved.

Jeremy Cooper Was the Skipper

Jemma Cooper's husband, Jeremy Cooper, was below deck and asleep when the collision happened. The impact woke him, and he immediately came to now that the yacht had suffered serious destruction.

Jeremy Cooper later told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the crew made efforts to limit the damage but gradually realized that the yacht could not be saved.

Terry Hetherington Helped Fight the Flooding

New Zealander Terry Hetherington was another member of the four-person crew. Following the collision, the sailors spent many hours removing water from the damaged yacht.

Almost 30 minutes after the impact, at 13:00 New Zealand time on Saturday, the crew activated their emergency beacon and declared a full mayday.

The sailors remained bailing water by hand and tried to keep the engine from clogging for as long as possible.

After being rescued, Hetherington explained the moment the crew reached the cargo ship.

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Martin Jaffre Inspected the Damage

French crew member Martin Jaffre, a joiner, also worked to manage the yacht's damage.

The collision left many gashes in the hull, cracked the fibreglass structure and damaged the steering.

Jaffre used expansion foam in an attempt to slow the flooding. He also went below the yacht to inspect the damaged hull,as per his crewmates.

MV Sofrana Surville Rescued All Four

The 143-metre MV Sofrana Surville reached the sailors at around 6 a.m. Sunday, around 18 hours following the whale strike, as per the New Zealand military.

A private sailing vessel also supported the response, officials stated.

The four sailors were taken aboard the cargo ship after spending hours in the life raft.

Rescue Followed an International Response

As per, Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Tai Tam was around 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island when it hit the whale and started taking on water.

Rescue authorities credited the crew's preparation and rapid activation of their emergency beacon. The New Zealand Defence Force stated that the operation included New Zealand, Australian and New Caledonian rescue agencies, as well as vessels that responded to the emergency.

The yacht was ultimately lost, but all four sailors survived the collision, the flooding, the abandonment of the vessel and around 18 hours in the life raft before reaching safety aboard the Sofrana Surville.