Episode
Cahuna Sails Through Disaster
- Published
- Jun 22, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 123
- Processing state
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Summary
A yacht named Cahuna, sailing from New Zealand to Fiji, faced a nightmare at sea when a freak storm shredded their rudder, flooded the deck, and killed their engine—all while battling 40-knot winds and 5-meter waves. With no steering and no power, skipper Steve Dawson turned to ingenuity, crafting a makeshift rudder from plywood and a spinnaker pole, even jury-rigging power from a vacuum cleaner battery. A second yacht helped by transferring diesel, but a tangled line left them dead in the water. Despite the chaos, calm leadership and sheer grit kept morale high. Now, relief is on the way: the YWAM Koha is en route to tow them safely into Suva harbor, bringing hope after a harrowing ordeal. Support the show: Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN: [email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting. Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates: https://sources.thednn.ai/b1e35caf12fc26b0