A Port Alfred National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander rescued her own Hobie Cat, which had been stolen, the institute said on Thursday.
Keryn van der Walt said the NSRI responded to reports of a capsized yacht off-shore off Bhirah in the Eastern Cape at about 11am on Wednesday.
”On arrival on scene, aboard our rescue craft Kowie Rescuer, to my dismay and surprise we found that the ‘upturned yacht’ floating in the water was actually an upturned Hobie Cat which belongs to me,” she said.
”My Hobie Cat should have been standing outside my shop in Port Alfred, but here it was floating upside down 30 nautical miles away.”
She last saw it on Tuesday morning.
Hobie Cats are small racing catamarans used for racing and personal use.
The craft was turned over at sea and towed back to Port Alfred.
She said the Hobie Cat had probably been stolen from outside her shop and then abandoned. — Sapa