Boating trip without lifejackets proves costly

Four people in inflatable dinghies had their boat trip on the Clutha River cut short last night when they were pulled off the water because none of them was wearing lifejackets.

Queenstown Lakes District Harbourmaster Marty Black said an Albert Town resident noticed the four on the water in three inflatables just after 7.30pm, in the Deans Bank area. “He was concerned for their safety because not one of them was wearing a lifejacket, so he called me. I contacted a staff member who lives nearby, and he picked them up just above the Albert Town bridge.”

Mr Black said that when the three women and one man were summoned off the river, they all said they had no idea that they should have been wearing lifejackets. Their ignorance of the QLDC bylaw would cost them each a $300 fine, and Mr Black said he hoped the news would help other people understand that everyone had to wear a lifejacket at all times, if they were on the water in a boat of any kind that was under 6m in length.

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