A video capturing the rough weather conditions faced during a rescue involving the Waihi Beach and Whangamata Coastguard has appeared online recently.

The 14 second video shows the coastguard crew and two ambulance staff on board Gallagher Rescue on route to the catamaran which was five nautical miles east of Whiritoa Beach.

A screenshot taken from a 14 second video posted online by the Waihi Beach Coastguard recently. Image: Waihi Beach Coastguard/Facebook

On April 18, Graeme Delaveau was sailing to Auckland on the eight metre catamaran ‘Superbird to Cruz' when his 28-year-old crewmate began experiencing ‘very bad pains' to the heart.

Speaking to SunLive Graeme says they were sailing along nicely under jib alone, despite the heavy rain and very poor visibility, while aiming to average five knots.

'When we were north of Waihi, my crewmate started getting very bad pains to the heart that got increasingly more intense.”

He decided to make a course for Whangamata in ‘boisterous east, south-east conditions'.

'As the minutes ticked by, his condition got worse with constant stabbing pain and he was totally debilitated,” says Graeme, who put out a mayday call to Waihi and Whangamata Coastguards at about 4.30pm.

'The conditions were so difficult that I had to set off three parachute flares to guide coastguard in as our drift rate put us way beyond the GPS coordinates I had given.”

After receiving the call, Waihi Beach Coastguard's Gallagher Rescue launched with crew and two ambulance officers on board, while GJ Gardner Rescue launched from Whangamata.

After locating the vessel the patient was then transferred to Gallagher Rescue while GJ Gardner Rescue took the vessel under tow and headed for Whangamata.

Gallgher Rescue began the trip back to Anzac Bay head on into two metre breaking seas before arriving to shore at 8pm.

The man was then transferred to an awaiting ambulance and transported to Tauranga Hospital.