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.”

Police initially tasked Coastguard Kaikoura  to two different jobs and a third job was called in during the other rescues. Police had been notified that there were two divers in trouble as well as a boat with divers and children on board being unaccounted for when the storm hit.  A subsequent call raised the alarm of a smaller vessel with 2-3 people on board possibly still at sea.

“Losing power on shore did not help matters’ said Coastguard Kaikoura Volunteer President John MacPhail ‘but crew training for events such as this, kicked into gear and everyone was located, assisted as required or accounted for.” 

With the summer boating season upon us it is a timely reminder to us all, that boating safety such as checking weather reports should be paramount. “Storms that hit so ferociously as Saturday’s can catch anyone unaware so it is important that emergency services such as Police and Coastguard are made aware of any concerns the general public have.”

Coastguard tips for Safe Boating

The more you know, the better your boating

Tell people of your intentions – where you are going and when you intend to be back.

Take a correct size and type of lifejacket for each person and for the type of activity you are undertaking.  

Take at least two water-proof methods of communication – primary method is VHF marine radio.  Secondary is a cell phone – (always put your cell phone in a zip-lock bag) – if you can’t call us, we can’t rescue you. Other options include flares, personal locator beacons.

Get a marine weather forecast before you go boating and keep yourself up to date during the day with the Coastguard Nowcasting on VHF– the weather can change quickly at sea.

Check the boat and engine before you leave and don’t overload the boat – be prepared for the unexpected.

Ensure your vessel carries the correct and appropriate safety equipment (i.e flares, EPIRB, VHF radio, First Aid Kit as examples).

Queenstown Airport Rescue provided the Queenstown Council with pollution control assistance and divers checked if there was any fuel leaking from the barge before attempts to right the vessel were made.

The incident had been referred to Maritime New Zealand.  Mr Rive, who manages Cecil Peak Station, could not be reached for comment yesterday. But a family member said the barge was transporting fertiliser at the time.

“We’re not sure why it happened, really,” she said. “There’s been bigger loads and rougher weather.”  The tractor was probably not recoverable from the lakebed, but that was not what was important, she said.  “I’m just glad no-one was hurt.”

Croad was fishing on Lake Onslow, 37km east of Roxburgh, with another adult when he entered the water to untangle fishing lines caught in the boat’s propellers, about 2pm Saturday.

The boat drifted away in the wind and by the time the other person was able to restart the motors Croad had vanished, according to Police.

Coastguard Clyde searched the Lake but were only able to locate a paddle from the boat.  They assisted the Wellington based police dive squad who recovered his body that afternoon, shortly after they started searching.

Divers found him about four metres deep in the lake near where he was last seen, Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw said.  “Although the death of Mr Croad is a tragedy it is of some comfort to his family and friends that he could be recovered from the lake in such a timely manner.”

“It’s a tribute to all the searchers involved that this result could be achieved.”

The death of Croad, who was not wearing a life jacket, had been referred to the coroner.

The Coastguard vessel, Kaikoura Rescue, found the yacht just south of Cape Campbell near Needles Point at 3.30 am and escorted is safely to Kaikoura, arriving back at 11.30am that morning.

The 40 foot yacht with 4 people on board, was traveling north from Lyttelton when the fire occured and they decided to make a PAN PAN call using a cellphone when the incident occurred.

PAN PAN is a distress call made when the safety of a person or vessel is in jeopardy but the danger is not life threatening.  A MAY DAY distress call is for imminent danger to life or property and immediate assistance is required.

Paul Lawson received the Regional Volunteer of the Year 2009 Award. Paul has been a member of Coastguard Sumner Lifeboat for eleven years holding the position of Coxswain, in addition he has been the Chairman of the Southern Region since 2005. Paul has overseen the modernising of the Sumner Lifeboat vessels and upgrade of their buildings. He has been the major driving force behind the development and implementation of the Sumner Lifeboat strategic plan.

John MacPhail recieved the Regional Coastguard Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year 2009 Award. John has been a Coastguard member since 199 and was the driving force behind the setting up of the Coastguard Air Patrol Kaikoura. During his years of service he has undertaken many roles including President of CAP Kaikoura and Vice President and Secretary of Coastguard Kaikoura.

Coastguard Southern Region Performance of the Year 2009 was awarded to the Coastguard Kaikoura Unit which over the past 7 years have fundraised to achieve the purchase of a new Coastguard Rescue Vessel and renovated their building to include a new training facility, all of which required the investment of over $1million. The crew members of Coastguard Kaikoura have given their time and energy both in fundraising and building activities to achieve this as well as being available for training and search and rescue operations.

Nick Sears of Coastguard Canterbury was awarded the Regional Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year 2009 Award. Nick has been a member of Coastguard Canterbury for 7 years and during that time has worked his way through the Coastguard training programme to achieve his Master Certificate of Compentency. He is a member of his units Board, is Asset Manager and a Team Leader. In October last year Nick took part in a major search and rescue operation. During that operation in particularly rough conditins at night he entered the water to recover the body of one of the missing men. His professional manner and bravery meant that a family had their loved one returned. Nick went on to support other crew members to deal with this particularly difficult situation.

These award winners will represent the Southern Region at the Coastguard National Awards in September 2009.

 The newly introduced NowCasting services provides mariners with real-time informaion on weather conditions at critical locations within the VHF radio coverage area and broadcasts the updates on Channel 22.

Broadcasting from Taiaroa Head over a wide area of the Otago region, the new service provides up-to-the-minute wind strength and direction information from a range of marine coastal sites, as well as the latest marine wather forecast and the local tide times and heights.

The NowCasting service improves marine safety by providing mariners, professinal and amateur, with a continuous weather infromtion stream enabling them to make better decisions about commencing or continuing their journeys.  Wind is the most critical factor in knowing about commencing or continuing their journeys.  Wind is the most critical factor in knowing the sea conditions so Coastguard uses automatic anemometers positioned at various sites, which report wind strength and direction every sixty seconds.  The wind data is bought back to a central computer and broadcast on VHF radio within seconds of it being received.

President of Coastguard Dunedin, Lox Kellas said “We have been very fortunate in the support we have recieved to get the NowCasting service up and running in Dunedin, particularly the assistance of Port Otago Ltd for their site to house equipment at Port Chalmers as well as data from their existing wind stations in the harbour.” 

“We’ve also been granted access to The Otago Maritime VHF Association broadcast site which has been integral to establishing the service,” says Kellas.

The Dunedin service has been on air for testing for two weeks and is now fully operational.  This station joins existing broadcasts already operated by Coastguard in Northland, Auckland, Kaipara, Raglan, Whitianga, Tairua, Whakatane/Tauranga, New Plymouth, Nelson, Cook Strait and Canterbury.  The additional site has been made possible by funding assistance throgh the New Zealand Community Trust.

L-R Tony Smith, Coastguard Clyde; Andy Johnston, Coastguard Bluff; Mark Whitehouse, Coastguard Southern Region; Sandy Johnson, Coastguard Bluff

Coastguard volunteers from Bluff and Riverton attended the Southland Boat Show on 1st and 2nd August.  Along with Southern Region Operations Manager, Mark Whitehouse and Boating Education Field Representative, Joanne Glassford they gave the people of Southland the opportunity to find out more about Coastguard.  Coastguard Rescue Vessel ‘Russell John Chisholm’ from Riverton was there and proved a hit with visitors getting the feel for being at the helm of a rescue vessel. 

Coastguard has three units based in Southland: Coastguard Bluff, Coastguard Riverton and Coastguard Air Patrol Southland.  In the year ended 30 June 2009 the Coastguard Professional Volunteers in Southland gave 4,233 hours of service to their community.

4,000 people entered the Coastguard competition to win a 41” TV which was won by Don Hume of Garston.

Coastguard Kaikoura held an opening ceremony for the new training room on 4th July. It is a credit to the hard work of the unit and has been named for their long term Unit Training Officer as the ‘Mike Kennedy Training Room’. Coastguard Southern Regional Manager, Cheryl Moffat, attended and spoke along with the Kaikoura Mayor and Colin King, National MP for Kaikoura. Mr King ‘cut the ribbon’. Local Police, St John and Fire Service attended as well as Coastguard Kaikoura crew members and their families. The training facility resulted from a remodel of their building as they no longer store the Coastguard Rescue Vessel and use a slipway to launch. There is a colony of Little Blue Penguins who nest under the building and the Unit as build a viewing area and nesting boxes and are working with a local conservationist on the project. It is hoped that they will be able to have guided tours viewing the penguins and paying a fee to do so.

Coastguard West Coast held the official launch of the new Ivan Talley Rescue on 28th February and a good crowd of over 50 local sponsors, SAR Partners, supporters, friends and family attended. The dangerous Grey River bar was decidedly tame and visitors were most impressed with the vessel when given the opportunity to ride out to sea in her.