MEDIA RELEASE

19 September 2013

Five Units Recognised with ‘Rescue of the Year’ Award

Five Coastguard Northern Region Units have been jointly awarded ‘Rescue of the Year’ at the organisation’s annual awards held at the Auckland Marine Rescue Centre last week.

Coastguard volunteer crews from Coastguard Auckland, Coastguard Waiheke, Coastguard Maraetai, Coastguard Howick and Coastguard North Shore Units were all recipients of the award, presented to acknowledge their professionalism, team work, quality of response and observation and search techniques during a significant incident where without their dedication the outcome could have been very different.

They were involved in a high-stakes rescue operation in July 2012, in which a fisherman became stranded in a 14 foot alloy open dinghy in increasingly treacherous conditions. Over 40 volunteers played a role in the rescue which also resulted in Coastguard’s Communications team being commended for the vital role they played.

As the volunteer crews were preparing to return to their respective bases following a long day on the water they received the call from Coastguard’s Operations Centre to commence a search for the missing person. The weather conditions were treacherous and meant air support wasn’t available to them with poor visibility in the dark, pouring rain hindered further by the extreme cold.

Shortly after 7pm Maraetai Rescue were called to pick up a green chilly bin found South East of Motuihe Island on the Hauraki Gulf. Quick thinking Coastguard volunteers put two and two together and the missing man’s family identified the chilly bin as being his.

“This became a vital piece of the puzzle and a “life-saving initiative”, says Ray Burge, Operations Manager.

“Between the time elapsed before the alarm was raised the chilly bin became invaluable and helped the crews navigate a large and rocky search area,” Mr Burge adds.

In the pouring rain and dark the Coastguard vessels and Police Launch Deodar searched the large area around Sergeants Channel and Motuihe Channel. Department of Conservation staff based on the island started shore lines searches.

“It was now past 10pm and the person had been overdue for more than eight hours,” remembers Coastguard Duty Officer Mark Leevers.

“It had been dark for two and a half hours and in the middle of winter the temperature was not much above 12 degrees. The Operations team had all but given up hope of finding the missing person alive. Westpac reluctantly returned to Mechanics Bay due to the low cloud and constant drizzle hampering their visibility.”

Just after 11pm the Coastguard Rescue Vessels received word from a DOC ranger searching on land that students had sighted a person holding onto a rock.

“The man was found clinging to a rock after his dinghy drifted away,” Mr Leevers says. “He was wet, cold and exposed to the elements for more than nine hours in the middle of winter. We were all very pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

“After hours in the water, we were starting to think the worst. He was one very grateful fisherman and a very lucky man!”

David Tommas Coastguard Northern Region CEO says, “This rescue is an example of our exceptional and highly-skilled crews working cohesively together with other rescue personnel to bring someone in trouble home to their loved ones.

“The team work, professionalism and dedication shown in this rescue is outstanding. The lessons to learn from this near-fatal accident are always take reliable communications that work when wet, and always wear a life jacket. Don’t go out in bad weather and always give your intended whereabouts to loved ones on land.

“All this year’s award winners and every one of our volunteers uphold the Coastguard Northern Region vision to keep everybody safe on the water. We save lives through rescue, education, communication and example. We honour our award winners for going above and beyond to provide vital assistance”.

Coastguard Northern Region is made up of 32 vessels. It has over 1,030 dedicated volunteers who risk their lives to save others on our waterways. This year Coastguard Northern Region’s volunteers dedicated 131,052 hours to saving lives. They brought 4,865 people home to safety, answered 124,516 radio calls seeing a response to 2,334 calls for assistance and providing thousands more with safety information to enjoy their boating safely.

The other award categories are:
•          Wally Hawken from Raglan Coastguard won the Dr. John Taylor Memorial Award for Volunteer of the Year.
•          Kevin Dreaver from Raglan Coastguard won the Giltrap VW Award for Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year.
•          Raglan Coastguard won Coastguard Northern Region Unit of the Year Award.
•          Murray Miskelly from Coastguard Northland Air Patrol – Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year.
•          Kareen Hall from Coastguard Bay of Islands – Communications Volunteer of the Year.

ENDS

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