A crowdfunding campaign is raising money for the British family of four whose catamaran ran aground whilst sailing through Beveridge Reef in the Pacific Ocean
31 August
Patrick and Anna Whetter, friends of the family who was rescued in the Pacific Ocean after their catamaran Avanti ran aground, have started a crowdfunding campaign on JustGiving to raise money for the foursome who lost everything at sea.
Bobby and Cheryl Cooper were sailing with their two children Lauren and Robbie when their boat ran aground whilst sailing through Beveridge Reef in the Pacific Ocean. The family were saved by Dutch-registered boat Donna Catharina. The ketch was anchored nearby doing whale research when they responded to the family’s emergency radio call.
It is believed the family had set sail from Mallorca where they’d been living for the last 20 years and where they had made friends with Patrick and Anna Whetter.
The campaign’s target was $20,000 and it has already raised $21,635.
The Whetters updated the donors with news of the Coopers, writing on JustGiving: “We have had an amazing response in under 24hrs and you cannot be thanked enough. Bobby, Cheryl, Lauren and Robbie are all well and in good spirits given what’s happened. ‘Avanti’ is in the lagoon in a semi submerged state. The insurance company Pantaenius are in touch with Bobby and are dealing with the situation. The wind at Beveridge Reef is still 30knts plus, so they are waiting a day or two longer before proceeding to Niue, disembarking from the boat where they are now and taking stock of the situation.”
29 August
The British family of four were rescued 400km southeast off Niue after their 15m catamaran hit a reef in the Pacific Ocean, news website Loop reports.
A Dutch-registered boat, Donna Catharina was doing whale research nearby when they answered an emergency radio call which was put out at 2.30am on Monday (28 August), the Rescue Coordination of New Zealand said.
Geoff Lunt, Rescue Coordination Centre search and rescue officer said it was a lucky coincidence that Donna Catharina was nearby and able to assist as no other craft was in the vicinity.
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The family didn’t suffer any injuries and were rescued with just their passport on them. The whale research boat later tried to recover some of the British family’s personal items.
Geoff Lunt said: “The are now comfortable on the ketch, within the safety of the lagoon. We would like to thank the crew of the ketch and all the rescue services involved in tracking vessel location and successfully rescuing this family,”.