A Wellington water cyclist is determined to cross Cook Strait, even though his last attempt ended in a rescue.
Last time, Rick Matenga was abandoned by his support crew and left alone as night fell, pedalling against the current and in deep trouble.
The 44-year-old attempted to cross the strait on Wednesday but was left on his own for hours to battle against the currents after his support crew abandoned him.
"I know how treacherous the Cook Strait can be, it can kick up pretty quick," says Mr Matenga. "My expectation of [my crew] was to stay in front or next to me [but] what I got was them taking off."
Mr Matenga and his two supporters - who he barely knew - left Makara around 7:20am, when conditions were perfect. More than 13 hours later, in the dark, he was rescued.
He thought the crossing would take just six hours. But after 12, he was still about 5km from Tory Channel, and the support boat was running low on fuel so it left, with all his supplies. Mr Matenga was furious but stayed calm.
"Being frightened and that, and panicking, may have made things a bit worse for myself. I was just staying confident and running with the current and pushing towards land," he says.
A search for him began at 7.30pm, involving two Coastguard boats, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and Cook Strait ferries. The helicopter spotted him before just before 9pm, about 2km from Fighting Bay. It wasn't easy finding him in the dark and rescuers were frustrated by his lack of equipment.
"He's a very lucky man to still be with us. He could have spent a very, very cold [night] and perhaps not survived the night out on the Cook Strait," says helictopter rescue crew member Colin Larsen.
Mr Matenga successfully crossed the strait in an outrigger canoe in 1995 and says he plans to cross it again in four to six weeks on the same bike, but with a different support crew.
3 News
source: newshub archive
