AC/DC Fans Rescued From Yacht After Storm Knocks Out Their Skipper

The decision to return home by boat after a stormy concert left some AC/DC fans thunderstruck.

Seems a trio of ticketholders who'd just attended AC/DC's Rock or Bust tour stop at Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday (Dec. 12) set out across Cross Strait toward Picton with only one experienced sailor on board – ignoring what had already been a rough evening of weather. High seas soon tossed their yacht, and the skipper was knocked overboard by the boom.

"There had been alcohol consumed," Constable Kurt Marshall told The Herald. "How much, we don't know."

The skipper's two friends managed to get him back aboard the vessel, then called for help. Wellington's maritime police promptly sent the Lady Elizabeth IV to their rescue. "We happened to be close by so we got an experienced sailor on to the vessel," Marshall added. "One of us was sailing, while the other was administering first aid to the male with injuries."

A medic was helicoptered to the scene, then the injured man was taken to the hospital by ambulance, once they returned to Wellington harbor. Marshall said he suffered a "large gash to his forehead and a gash to his lip," and was also complaining of a sore neck. There were life jackets on board, but officials confirmed that none of the three men on the yacht were wearing them. The other two men returned home by ferry.

AC/DC's concert had been halted for some 30 minutes earlier the same night, as this storm roared through town. Promoter Sandra Roberts said that high wind had driven torrential rains into the stadium, and some of the electrical equipment was soaked.

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