The inflatable boat that sank in the Foveaux Strait with six men on board has been recovered and will be freighted back to the mainland from Stewart Island today.
The six men's hunting, fishing and diving trip went awry from the start yesterday when their 6.6 metre Stabicraft began taking on water 150 metres north of Edwards Island, in the Muttonbird Islands, off Stewart Island.
Just after midday they sent out a mayday call and were picked up, uninjured, 15 minutes later by the Foveaux Express ferry. A local fishing boat retrieved the inflatable.
Constable Nick Wells, of Stewart Island police, said the boat was now on a trailer but it would be unwise to try sailing it back as the electrical system had been flooded and it could easily stall again.
The boat would be put on the regular cargo sailing.
The men, in their late 30s and early 40s, and from Christchurch, Gore, Queenstown, Invercargill and Nelson, stayed at a Stewart Island backpackers last night.
Mr Wells said the men were all wearing lifejackets and were well set up to deal with an emergency situation, but it appeared their boat was overloaded.
They were six big men and they had eight diving tanks and 12 full 20-litre containers of fuel on board.
They were lucky, he said.
Mr Wells said a lot of boaties took a chance and "blasted across" Foveaux Strait.
But yesterday's sinking could have been a lot worse if they had been caught out in the middle of the strait, he said.
The Southland Times reported that boat's sheepish Christchurch-based skipper, who declined to give his name, said the boat's engine stalled then the boat was swamped from "all sides".
"Within 30 seconds we were under water."
The sinking had forced a rethink of the hunting trip, which was to last until Saturday.
