Congratulations to Nelson, Greg and Doug all recipients of Volunteer Awards at the recent Coastguard Southern Region Volunteer Awards for 2011.

Regional Volunteer of the Year – Doug Griffin

Doug Griffin is modest about his contribution to Coastguard but the 14 year veteran of Coastguard West Coast has been the driving force behind the unit’s growth as he held it together during a period with only four active members to today’s 21 volunteers.  Doug, the only currently qualified Skipper, turns out for every rescue, on water training activity and search and rescue exercise.

His contributions to Coastguard West Coast include holding the positions of Safety Officer, Training Officer, he managed the project to obtain a new vessel in 2009, and is currently working on the new jetty and lifter project, putting in many hours to liaise with builders and others.

Doug has also been a Coastguard Southern Region Board member since 2007 and was appointed Vice Chairman of this Board in 2011.

Coastguard Southern Region Manager, Cheryl Moffat, says “Coastguard is lucky to have volunteers of Doug’s calibre available to communities like the Coast, as along with his Coastguard commitments Doug is also involved with Civil Defence, the NZ Army Territorials, Greymouth District Council, and the Kennel Club to name a few”.

Rescue Volunteer of the Year – Nelson Coyler

Nelson Colyer isn’t into awards.  It took some doing to get him along to accept his award.  Nelson was recognised for his bravery in boarding the tug ‘Rakanui’ on 23^rd April 2011 when it was sinking off the Canterbury coast.  Coastguard was called out at 0100hrs when the Rakanui issued a ‘Pan Pan’ call and the Maritime NZ Rescue Coordination Centre tasked Coastguard with going to their aid.  When Nelson arrived on board Coastguard Canterbury’s vessel ‘Pub Charity Canterbury Rescue’ the two Rakanui crew were extremely exhausted and feeling the effects of a 2metre swell and noxious fumes from the flooded engine room.  Nelson boarded with the Coastguard salvage pump which he secured to the tug and proceeded to pump out the seawater working both above and below deck.  Coastguard vessels Pub Charity Canterbury Rescue and Blue Arrow Rescue remained on scene monitoring the state of the vessel and at the ready should Nelson and the tug crew have to abandon ship.

Nelson’s actions were most effective and he was able to control the ingress of water and maintain a level of water that would allow the tug to make its way under its own steam back to Lyttelton.  This would be a long, arduous trip over 4 hours at only 5 knots.  With both tug crew members exhausted, Nelson elected to stay on board and helm the Rakanui back to Lyttelton.  During the passage he had to frequently stop and prime the pump and clear water from the tug.

A Senior Crew member of Coastguard Canterbury, Nelson as one of the oldest members continues to show great determination, attitude, stamina and grit says Mark Appleton, President Coastguard Canterbury.  “Nothing is too much trouble for Nelson; he sets a good example for everyone with his great sense of humour.  We’re especially lucky to have his wealth of engineering experience.”  Mark says that they are very proud of Nelson’s heroic achievement in this rescue.

Operational Volunteer of the Year – Greg Skene

Greg is a newer recruit to Coastguard Canterbury joining the unit in 2009. He has been nominated for this award in recognition of his incredible determination and positive can-do attitude. Greg really came into his own following the earthquake on September 4^th 2011 when the lives of all Cantabrians changed forever. Greg initiated and was the driving force behind the Coastguard response to assist Civil Defence. With very little sleep or rest he tirelessly arranged rosters for the running and staffing of Welfare Centres around the city. He made up shortfalls in staff himself, once working 36 hours straight. Multiple units across the region relied on Greg to organise them into an effective responsive team. With Greg’s ability to build effective relationships across organisations and his guidance Coastguard volunteers were able to excel in every position that they were placed in. Following the February earthquake Greg worked closely with Civil Defence and secured Coastguard as the ‘go-to’ people to run a Welfare Centre encompassing multiple agencies. At all times he was ‘flying the flag’ for Coastguard – literally and figuratively. As time went on Greg was joined by Dean Verlander (another Coastguard Canterbury member) and between them they organised the red, yellow and green stickering of buildings around the CBD Red Zone, this led to Coastguard being asked by the Army to facilitate the opening of cordons around the city. By this time Greg was on first name terms with everyone at the Emergency Operations Centre including the Mayor Bob Parker. Greg gave a monumental effort, putting the people of Christchurch first, he didn’t leave his post until the job was done.

Lieutenant Colonel Stefan Michie has written Coastguard volunteer’s contribution to the earthquake response, he made special mention of Greg and Dean and I quote “Both Greg and Dean provided the vital ‘glue’ which held may plans together and allowed them to be effectively executed on the ground. They gave selflessly of their time and displayed little regard for their own personal comfort, showing great concern for those many thousands of Cantabrians who had been affected by the quake.”

Rescue of the year

The regional awards also acknowledge four Coastguard units Canterbury, Canterbury Air Patrol, Kaikoura, Sumner Lifeboat and Waimakariri Ashley for the contribution the units members made to their communities during the recent Canterbury earthquakes.

At 0435 hours on September 4^th, 2010 a 7.1 earthquake centred at Darfield caused widespread damage resulting in a Civil Defence response. On September 5^th Coastguard Canterbury contacted Civil Defence to ask if they could be of assistance. Initially 3 members were called upon to take on key logistical roles at the Linwood Welfare Centre. The response and efforts of Coastguard volunteers saw Civil Defence continuing to request support in all key roles. CIMS training, Coastguard IMT structure and the attitude of Coastguard personnel proved invaluable in the efficient and professional running of the Welfare Centre over 25 days, with 18 of our people involved per day – close on 5,000 hours of support. At the subsequent multi agency debrief comment was made that “should another event occur Coastguard should be called because of the contribution they have made.”

When the February earthquake struck Coastguard was called by Civil Defence and asked to report to Hagley Park. Coastguard volunteers were involved in assisting at the Burnside High School Welfare Centre under the guidance of Civil Defence, the next day they were retasked to Cowles Stadium. At the same time Sumner was effectively cut off from the rest of the city, Sumner Lifeboat members ran incident management for the Fire Brigade at Sumner allowing fire fighters to assist locals. Subsequently Coastguard was asked to assist and run a new Welfare Centre at Windsor School, for a week Coastguard volunteers ran the centre and all key taskings until it was closed. Coastguard volunteers from many units gave over 3,000 hours service during this period. After the closure of the Welfare Centres our volunteers were retasked to help the Police and Army with coordinating the opening of zones around the CBD, this task was completed over 6 weeks and involved 1,000 hours of support. In that time Coastguard helped business owners retrieve gear from badly damaged buildings so they could get up and running again, most memorable was the retrieval of essential business equipment from the 7^th and 8^th stories of the BNZ building in Cathedral Square saving 96 jobs. And then of course they were out again running the Cowles Stadium Welfare Centre after the June quakes.

During these difficult times Coastguard people have been selfless in their response. Members from many units worked together tirelessly and their professional attitude has led to commendations from many agencies

5 young men were trapped on rocks in the Grey River, Greymouth on Wednesday evening having been out white baiting.  Coastguard West Coast volunteers were out training in their IRB’s with the local Surf Life Saving club when they were contacted by Police to assist.  The youths had made a cell phone call for help to the Maritime NZ Rescue Coordination Centre.  The Grey River was rising on an incoming tide and the young men who appeared intoxicated saved by the Coastguard volunteers and taken back to the Talley Marine Rescue Centre where Police took charge of them.