Hamilton Jet Rescue

5.8m Hamilton Jet specifically constructed for the local surf conditions in the Sumner area.

Blue Arrow Rescue

12.5m ‘Sumner Class’ Slipway Launched Fast Response Lifeboat ( To be operational in 2010)

Visit Sumner Lifeboat’s website

We don’t do this to be rewarded

The Coastguards Sumner Lifeboat volunteer crew are well trained in search and rescue operations.

In the twelve months to 30 June 2010 the 27 professional volunteers of Coastguards Sumner Lifeboat

• gave 5,975 hours of service
• spent 301 hours in search & rescue operations and 3,947 in training activities
• answered 11 calls for assistance from the public
• responded to 72 Police initiated search & rescue operations, a 95% increase over last year
• rescued 29 people

Since July 2010

Our Volunteers have

• given 598 hours of service
• spent 390 hours  in training activities and 10 hours in search and rescue operations
• Answered 1 assistance call
• Responded to 1 Police initiated search and rescue operation

Keeping our Community Promise – Saving lives at sea

Recent Maritime Search & Rescue operations involving Sumner Lifeboat are

Jet Skier Reported Missing

A Jet Skier was reported missing at 6pm on 12th August when traveling from Godley Head to Taylors Mistake on Banks Peninsula. Sumner Lifeboat was tasked and readied Blue Arrow rescue for its first job. Fortunately the Jet Skier turned up safe and well as the rescue vessel was being launched.

Traffic Barrier Rescued

June 13th Police called Sumner Lifeboat at 12.30pm after a member of the public reported seeing an orange object in the water off Whitewash Head, Banks Peninsula.   Hamilton Jet Rescue was launched with 3 volunteer crew aboard and located the object.  It turned out to be a large orange traffic barrier.

Sumner Bay search

4th June 2010, Police called out Sumner Lifeboat to search for a person seen entering the water near Cave Rock by a member of the public at 16.59.  Hamilton Jet Rescue was launched and a shoreline search was also carried out by Sumner Lifeboat volunteers.   Apart from surfers no other person was located and the Police stood down the search at 18.26.

Vessel Overdue

2nd May 2010: A concerned Grandfather alerted Sumner Lifeboat that a vessel with two adults and a 5 year old child aboard was overdue from a fishing trip.   Hamilton Jet Rescue and the jetski Southern Trust Rescue were launched and located the overdue boat near Godley Head.  All aboard were safe but cold and were escorted back to Sumner Bay.

4 Hospitalised with Hypothermia

25^th April, 4.20pm a canoe with 4 people aboard capsizes in Sumner Bay.  A member of the public alerts Police who task Sumner Lifeboat to assist. Hamilton Jet Rescue with 3 volunteer crew aboard responds and plucks three people from the sea.  They are taken to the Christchurch Yacht Club where an ambulance is waiting to take them to hospital as they were suffering from hypothermia.  The fourth person had swum to shore.

Kayakers in Distress

February 2010 Hamilton Jet Rescue was tasked by Police to rescue two kayakers who had tipped out of their kayak and lost their paddles.  Sumner Lifeboat volunteers plucked them from the sea.  One had ingested seawater and had a very low core temperature, they were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Overseas visitor fails to return from swimming in Sumner Bay

6th February at 8.12pm Police tasked Coastguard Sumner Lifeboat to search for a Chinese man who went swimming in Sumner Bay and did not return.  Hamilton Jet Rescue searched along the shore line and other Coastguard volunteers seached the shoreline on foot and from an adjacent hill by vehicle.  The Westpac Rescue helicopter also searched using thermal imaging.  Unfortunately the swimmer was not located although the volunteer crews searched until 10pm that night.  Police located the swimmers body on the beach at 7am the following morning.

Rip & Wind Sweeps Surfers out to Sea

16 January Police task Sumner Lifeboat to rescue surfers being swept out to sea by a strong southerly wind and a rip near Whitewash Head.  Hamilton Jet Rescue picked up two surfers with their boards and returned them to shore.  The volunteer crew then checked the other surfers in the area to ensure their safety.

Surfers in shock

14 June Hamilton Jet Rescue was tasked by Police to find a lost surfer in the Sumner Bay area.  Having located and rescued the surfer they also assisted six other surfers to shore who were suffering from cold and shock as a result of the sea conditions that day.

3 People assisted from rocks at Whitewash Head

2 November persons were reported on the rocks at Whitewash Head, one with the possibility of injuries. Hamilton Jet Rescue and Lady Francis II launched. Three people recovered, one with mild hypothermia.

Vessel overdue – two men missing

28 & 29 October 2008 a vessel returning to Lyttelton form the pipeline project with two persons on board failed to reach the port. Sumner Lifeboat crew were out training and when alerted started a search and notified Coastguard Canterbury to assist. An extensive search involving over 10 vessels and three aircraft was undertaken overnight and throughout the following day which was managed from the Sumner Lifeboat Station by Police with support from Coastguard Search & Rescue Controllers. The body of one man was found at 2am on the 29^th October. An extensive search box area, which was agreed with the Maritime NZ Rescue Coordination Centre, was searched for the other missing man and the Naiad vessel without any sign being found. Over the next two weeks Hamilton Jet Rescue continued to respond to potential sightings until the body of the second man was discovered in the estuary on 12^th November, when they assisted Police in the recovery.

The full search involved over 80 volunteers, 2,360 volunteer hours, 10 vessels and three aircraft. Coastguard Sumner Lifeboat extends its sympathy to the families of Jodi Campbell and Tony Utteridge.

Volunteer with Coastguard Sumner Lifeboat

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

Sumner Lifeboat could not operate without the continued, generous support of New Zealanders.

The following local businesses and organisations have given generously to support us.

• Hamilton Jet
• Lyttelton Port Company
• Christchurch City Council
  

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 Sumner Lifeboat in the message section. Thank you for your support.

Where we come from

Sumner Lifeboat dates its inception to the arrival of ‘Rescue’ in 1898 and is the oldest of the Coastguard units. In 1904 the Sumner Lifeboat Institution was created and assumed responsibility for maritime rescues off Sumner from the harbour board. Joseph Day became the first Coxswain and continued to rescue people until his retirement in December 1912, he died four months later. The first powered lifeboat was obtained in 1930, the first radio in 1958 and first GPS tracking system in 2002. Sumner Lifeboat has never lost a crew member and volunteerism remains the essential credo.