Join the virtual search effort online at www.liverescue.co.nz where you’ll find yourself in a simulated Coastguard Air Patrol search plane, scouring the New Zealand coastline in real time for a missing boat.   But be warned, locating the missing boat won’t be a simple task.

Coastguard CEO Bruce Reid says, “For most kiwis, this is the closest they’ll get to a search and rescue operation; however the real-time nature of this world-first online rescue mission means it’s going to feel like they really are part of the Coastguard search team.”

“Users will very quickly appreciate how difficult it is for Coastguard volunteers as they work against the clock to find a small boat in a vast area of ocean – it can be like finding a needle in a haystack,” he says.  “What we want to show people though this exercise is that finding people at sea isn’t easy – but by supporting Coastguard, its possible.  New Zealanders can show their support for Coastguard in many different ways – from becoming a Coastguard volunteer or through making a donation to keep Coastguard, which is a charity, afloat so that we can continue to help save lives at sea.”