LONDON: A local Noida boy has become an unlikely hero of the high seas after he braved gigantic waves and blinding dark skies to save an elderly couple navigating parts of the planet on their boat which was badly damaged by bad weather on the South Pacific Ocean Captain Sachin Srivastava who was in charge of product tanker Stena Paris steamed through a stormy sea at full speed for over 13 hours to reach the couple in the brink of time.Swedish couple–70-year-old Stig and 69-year-old Siv Bodin–have been out sailing since 2011, having visited Brazil and the Caribbean and passed through the Panama Canal last Christmas.They were on their way to their next stop–Papeete in Tahiti of the French Polynesia when they got caught in a violent storm 125 nautical miles (231 km) north-east of the Cook Islands.The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) detected a beacon alert from the 11.2 metre (37 foot) Blue Horizon at around 5.15 pm on August 5.Satellite phone contact was then established with the yacht via the Swedish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.RCCNZ Search and Rescue Mission Controller Neville Blakemore said the Swedish couple aboard the yacht was left with a dismasted yacht and feared the broken mast would hole the hull.An aircraft was dispatched from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Pape’ete in Tahiti to over fly the yacht.It confirmed that the nearest rescue vessel was the tanker Stena Paris, around 150 nautical miles (280km) or 10 hours sailing away.Captain Sachin Srivastava was in charge of Stena Paris.“The tanker was diverted to rescue the couple and they were successfully taken aboard, uninjured, at round 9am the next morning, thanks to Captain Srivastava,” officials said.In an interview to TOI from Noida, Sachin’s father Dinesh C Srivastava said he came to know about his son’s heroics when he called the family through a satellite phone on August 8.Dinesh C Srivastava told TOI that Sachin who completed his sailing degree from the Institute of Nautical Sciences in Glasgow spends three months on sea and three months in his house in Noida (UP).He told TOI: “Sachin has been sailing for over 13 years now and is now a Captain. We only get to speak with him when he calls. He called this week to tell us how he steamed through a very choppy sea and treacherous weather to save the couple. Sachin diverted his course and travelled over 200 km taking him around 13 hours of non-stop sailing to reach the couple and rescue them just in the nick of time. Once they reached, they threw ropes towards the couple and helped them climb onto the ship with the help of hanging ladders.''The incident however “scared” Sachin’s wife Mamta who have been married for the past nine years and has a son.Talking to TOI, Mamta said on Sunday: “Sachin had called me today. I was scared yet proud. I asked him to narrate what happened and he told me that the weather was rough. He didn’t elaborate and said rescuing the abandoned sailors was part of his job. He will be back in Noida in another two months’ time”.Rescue Mission Controller Neville Blakemore said: “Weather conditions were not great, with swells of around four metres, so it was excellent work by the master and crew of the Stena Paris to get the couple aboard without an incident. This is a good example of RCCNZ working with a number of overseas agencies to ensure a successful rescue”.The Stena Paris has now reached Papeete. The yacht has been abandoned.New Zealand authorities have sent out a warning to other vessels in the area that the Y Blue Horizon is still adrift unmanned in the area.