6.8m Naiad RIB ‘Kaiapoi 1’

We don’t do this to be rewarded

The Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley  volunteer crew are well trained in search and rescue operations.

In the twelve months to 30 June 2010 the 37 professional volunteers of Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley

• gave 3,284 hours of service, 5% up on last year
• spent 199 hours in search & rescue operations and 1,492 in training activities
• answered 1 call for assistance from the public
• responded to 19 Police initiated search & rescue operations, a 18% increase over last year
• rescued 5 people

Since July 2010

Our Volunteers have

• given 456 hours of service
• spent 344 hours  in training activities

Keeping our Community Promise – Saving lives at sea

The latest Search & Rescue operations involving the professional volunteer crews of  Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley are

Kaiapoi River searched for suspected bridge jumper

Coastguard Waimakariri Ashley spent 14 hours searching for a suspected missing person after Police received a report of someone jumping off the motorway bridge across the Kaiapoi River.  The incident was reported at 10.15pm on Thursday 17th June and Coastguard launched Kaikapo 1, Rangiora High Rescue and a jetboat to search the river.   In addition a shoreline search was carried out by LandSAR personnel.  At 20 past midnight the search was called off as no trace of a person had been found.

After a debrief with Police Coastguard Waimakariri Ashley volunteers recommenced searching the river at 10am on Friday morning to coincide with the high tide stopping at midday and recommencing for a third time at 3pm (low tide) for a final search.  At 4pm that afternoon the search was finally called off by Police with nothing being found.

Fatality at Waimakariri River Bridge

February 2010 a family were swimming in the early evening in the Waimakariri River near the old bridge.  A young man dived down near the bridge piles and did not surface.  Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley were called to search for him by Police.  They were unable to find him and the Police dive squad were brought down the next morning to search under water.  His body was found by the bridge pile in the debris that accumulates there.  This is the third person to drown in similar circumstances in this location.  Coastguard has previously put up a sign trying to warn of the dangers and is saddened by this families loss.

Fisherman nearly drowns at Waimakariri River Mouth

30th January Police alert Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley of a report of a fisherman who fell into the Waimakariri River and had been swept out to sea.  Kaiapoi 1 went out over the river bar and started a sweep along the shoreline.  Rangiora High School Rescue stood by inside the bar.  A vehicle was sent to the mouth of the river to liaise with Police.  Kaiapoi 1’s volunteer crew located the 40 year old man who was suffering from hypothermia and near drowing, he was transferred to the Westpac Rescue helicopter and taken to hospital.

Runabout Upside Down at Waimakariri River Mouth

Sunday 6th December Coastguard Waimakariri Ashley volunteers respond to a Police call reporting two people in the water and a capsized on the south side of the Waimakariri river mouth when crossing the river bar.  6 volunteers in Kaiapoi 1 rescued a man and a woman suffering from mild hypothermia, who were taken back to the Coastguard base and a waiting ambulance.

Jet Skier lucky to be rescued

3^rd January Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley tasked by Police to uplift a jet skier from a Russian fishing vessel the Ivan Golubets, after he has spent 30 hours adrift when his jet ski broke down. Strong currents had dragged Nathan Maclure from the mouth of the Waimakariri River as far south as the entrance to Lyttelton harbour then returned him 30km up the coast but by this time he was 13km out to sea. During the night he had survived two vicious storms, hailstones, jelly fish, sharks and the numbing cold of the night. Coastguard returned him to shore and recommended he invest in an emergency communications device such as a hand held VHF radio, flares or a personal locator beacon. Mr Maclure had used a ‘safety sausage’, a two-metre long red windsock and waved at people on the beach. Unfortunately they did not recognise the distress signal and waved back.

Dingy Adrift

4^th December Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley activated by Police to assist a dingy adrift on the Waimakariri River. Found and assisted to safety the three people on board the dingy were safe and well.

Search for Missing Men and Naiad

28^th October Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley joined other local Coastguard Units to search for two men who failed to reach Lyttelton from the pipeline operation of the Brighton beach. They searched through the night using in difficult conditions, especially crossing the Waimakariri River bar in the dark in high seas. 29^th October Coastguard rescue vessel Kaiapoi 1 assisted with a grid search throughout the day for Tony Utteridge without success. Mr Utteridge’s body was found two weeks later. Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley volunteers express their sympathy to the families of Mr Campbell and Mr Utteridge.

Volunteer with Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley

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 Waimakariri-Ashley 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 Waimakariri Ashley in the message section. Thank you for your support.

Some special supporters who are currently assisting us with funding for the refurbishment of Kaiapoi 1 are

• The Southern Trust
• NZ Lottery Grants Board

Where we come from

Coastguard Waimakariri-Ashley was started in 1978.