11.3m Naiad RIB ‘Kaikoura Rescue’

Purchased in December 2006 this Coastguard Rescue Vessel has was built specifically for Coastguard Kaikoura. It is powered by two Yanmar Turbo Diesel engines and two Hamilton Jet Units with Blue Arrow. Kaikoura Rescue has an average speed of 30 knots, a maximum speed of 36 knots and a range of 300 nautical miles. The launching trailer was built by Dunlea Products Ltd of Kaikoura.

We don’t do this to be rewarded

The Coastguard Kaikoura volunteer crew are well trained in search and rescue operations.

In the twelve months to 30 June 2010 the 36 professional volunteers of Coastguard Kaikoura

• gave 3,425 hours of service
• spent 512 hours in search & rescue operations and 1,343 in training activities
• answered 27 calls for assistance from the public
• responded to 18 Police initiated search & rescue operations, a 100% increase over last year
• rescued 53 people

Since July 2010

Our Volunteers have

• given 228 hours of service
• spent 103 hours  in training activities and 27 hours in search and rescue operations
• Answered 1 assistance call
• rescued 4 people

Keeping our Community Promise – Saving lives at sea

The latest Search & Rescue operations undertaken by the volunteer crews of Coastguard Kaikoura are

Yacht hit whale, disabled in rough seas

Friday 18th June the 10m yacht  Marguerite sailing from the Marlborough Sounds en route to Lyttelton hit what the crew believed to be a whale and sustained damage to the rudder.  The lurch of the vessel threw a woman crew member into fishing gear where she sustained an injury to the buttock area from a 15cm tuna hook and the skipper also fell spraining his wrist.  In heavy seas with their rudder jammed they were not able steer the yacht and a large wave pushed water into the cabin area disabling their electronics.  They spent an uncomfortable night and maintained contact with the Maritime NZ Rescue Coordination Centre  (RCC) via a ‘fleet link’ radio. The next morning they activated their EPRIB and the RCC handed the management of the search and rescue operation to Police.

Coastguard Kaikoura volunteer crew were tasked by Police and launched Kaikoura Rescue, facing one of their toughest rescues battling breaking swells up to five metres high and winds gusting 55 – 75km per hour.  The Marguerite was 30 kilometres off Kaikoura and it took and hour and a half to reach the stranded yachities in the high seas.  With visibillity poor the yacht set off two flares as Kaikoura Rescue reached their location to enable the Coastguard volunteer crew to finally locate the yacht.  Transferring the yachities to the Coastguard Rescue Vessel was difficult in the conditions and they were brought to shore where the injured pair were taken to Kaikoura Hospital by ambulance.

The Coastguard Kaikoura volunteers later returned to find and take the yacht under tow back to South Bay, Kaikoura.  Jack Kemp of Coastguard Kaikoura praised the Marguerites skipper and crew, who were experienced and had all the safety gear needed including the EPRIB beacon and a UFH radio.

Tangaroa Crew Member Injured

3rd May 2010: Coastguard Kaikoura were asked by St John to assist with the medical evacuation of a crew member on the NIWA research vessel Tangaroa.  The crew member badly injured a finger at approximately 6.30am some 200 nautical miles from shore.  The Tangaroa headed for Kaikoura and the Coastguard vessel Kaikoura Rescue met them at 11am and transferred the injured man to shore and a waiting ambulance.

Jet Skiers in Trouble

March 2010 Coastguard Kaikoura notified by Police of a jet ski in trouble off the north side of the Kaikoura Peninsula.  The sea was rough with a strong breeze blowing.  Two people were rescued from the jet ski and it was towed back to Jimmy Armers beach.

Capsized Boat off Oaro Black Rock

January 4th a man and his 12 year old son clung to their upturned boat after it capsized while they were picking up cray pots south of Kaikoura.   After drifting on the upturned boat for 90 minutes they were spotted from shore and the alarm was raised.   Kaikoura Rescue and an Encounter Kaikoura boat went to their assistance.  The pair required medical treatment for mild hypothermia and cuts.  Police said they were disappointed that no standard safety features were in place, including lifejackets, radio, wetsuits or flares.

Dive Boat in Difficulty

December 30th a boat carring out diving activities along the Kaikoura Coast near Rileys Rock gets into difficulties.  7 divers were in the water and the boat, due to the inexperienced of the boatman who was unable to restart the vessel, had drifted away from their location.  The boatman had anchored and attracted the attention of passing traffic ashore.  The vessel had no communication equipment such as VHF or flares.  Kaikoura Rescue took the boatman aboard and Coastguard volunteers manned the vessel for him.  They managed to get the boat restarted and took it back to shore for the group.  The divers were all accounted for, either swimming to shore or being picked up by a local man who launched his boat to help.  The boatman had done the right thing once he ralised he was in trouble by anchoring and signaling for help.

Strong Winds Keep Coastguard Kaikoura Busy

The high winds on Saturday 11th December blew roofs off and created havoc on land in the Kaikoura region.  With gust of over 113 knots, Coastguard Kaikoura Volunteers were kept busy with 3 calls for assistance coming in almost simultaneously.   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.”

Runabout in Distress

November 13th a runabout lost its engine due to a small electical fire which the two people managed to put out.  They sent up a distress flare and were initially assisted by a Whale Watch vessel which was nearby and who stood by until Kaikoura Rescue arrived.   Coastguard Kaikoura towed the vesssel back to South Bay.

Yacht has Electrical Fire

Coastguard Kaikoura volunteers were called out at midnight on the 12th October 2009 by the Maritime NZ Rescue Coordination Centre to aid a yacht in distress near Cape Campbell. The yacht had an electrical fire onboard cutting all electronics including the navigation lights, there was petrol in the bilges and the crew were experiencing seasickness and difficulty with navigation.  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.

Skipper Disoriented

Sailing from Picton to Lyttelton a skipper become disoriented and unable to navigate effectively. When the trip has taken days longer than expected and the vessel was close to shore near Kaikoura his two nephews jumped ship and swam to shore alerting Police. Coastguard Kaikoura was tasked with locating the vessel and offering assistance to the Skipper. After some discussion the vessel was towed to Kaikoura and moored.

Yacht in distress

22^nd October 1754hrs a yacht encountered rough seas, low on fuel, with electrical failure and seasickness the owner used a cell phone to notify police. Coastguard Kaikoura was tasked to provide assistance. Kaikoura Rescue towed the vessel to safety and the Coastguard crew assisted them to locate fuel, arrange repairs. As the vessel did not have a VHF radio Coastguard loaned them a portable VHF radio and provided a sheltered mooring overnight. A preventative action at this time ensured that a later search and rescue did not eventuate.

Volunteer with Coastguard Kaikoura

Saving lives creates a special camaraderie that is unique to those who have experienced it. But in typical Kiwi fashion, our crew’s prefer to remain humble about it. If you are prepared to put in the time and effort to be a Coastguard Professional Volunteer contact us by email.

We don’t do this alone

Coastguard Kaikoura could not operate without the continued, generous support of New Zealanders. To make a donation and join our team in saving lives at sea please use the ‘Donate Now’ button above to access our donations page and indicate Coastguard Kaikoura in the message section. Thank you for your support.

Where we come from

Coastguard Kaikoura was started in 1975 as the Kaioura Lifebaot Institution Inc.