Search & Rescue Award for Coastguard Kaikoura Volunteers

Dave Cox, Ian Blackler, Geoff Pollard, Murray Paul, Alasdair Lean, Richard Craig received Certificates of Achievement on 13th April 2011 from Hon Steven Joyce, Minister of Transport for the rescue of the yacht Marguerite on 18th June 2010.

On 18th June 2010, the yacht Marguerite hit what the crew beleived to be a whale, sustaining damage to the rudder.  The lurch of the vessel injured the two crew members on board.  With their rudder jammed in heavy seas, a large wave pushed water into the cabin disabling their electronics.  They spent a very uncomfortable night at sea and activated their 406MHz distress beacon in the morning.

Coastguard Kaikoura was tasked to assist the Marguerite, which was 30km off-shore and well outside their normal operational area.  Their vessel Kaikoura Rescue battled sswells of five metres and winds gusting 55-75 km/h, so it took them 90 minutes to reach the stranded yacht.  Then the Marguerite crew had to set off two flares to help the Coastguard crew locate the yacht because visibility was so poor.  The injured crew were transferred to the rescue vessel in difficult conditions and were taken back to shore for hospital treatment.  the volunteers later returned to the yacht and took it under tow to the harbour.

Their award recognised the skills and dedication demonstrated by the volunteers in the sever weather conditions they faced during the search and rescue operation.

The Gold Award for the most significant contribution to search and rescue in the New Zealand region was awarded to Captain Greg Lyall and the crew of the fishing vessel Amaltal Atlantis for the rescue of the crew from the Oyang 70 on 18th August 2010.