Four sailors have been rescued after a sperm whale sank their yacht off New Zealand, leaving them stranded in a life raft for 17 hours.

Jeremy and Jemma Cooper were sailing the yacht Tai Tam on September 26 when it collided with a whale about 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island.

The couple told the BBC they felt a huge thud and saw a pod of six sperm whales behind the boat. The yacht began taking on water and sank.

The four crew — two Australians, a New Zealander and a French national — abandoned ship and issued a Mayday call.

They spent 17 hours in the life raft before the cargo ship MV Sofrana Surville reached them at around 6am the next morning.

New Zealand’s Defence Force coordinated the rescue, with a P-8A aircraft establishing radio contact with the stricken crew.

Despite losing their yacht, the experienced sailors say they plan to return to the water soon.