Coastguard – New Year’s Eve effort

Local volunteers put a huge effort into running our unit in the busy summer period – Coastguard Hibiscus spent over 150 hours on the water in December and January, which equates to approximately 700 volunteer hours for this period alone. While most people were celebrating on December 31, our volunteer crew had a very busy 24 hours on the water.

Their day started at 7am with an urgent page due to a kayaker in distress at Fisherman’s Cove. Thankfully the kayaker had made their way back to shore, so our crew were stood down and managed to return home for breakfast. 

At 9am they received a second call out. A 34-foot vessel behind Motutapu Island had developed mechanical failure, and required a tow back to their mooring at Weiti River. As normal, nothing is ever simple as the vessel had managed to anchor close to the reef and was unsure if they had enough power left to raise the anchor. Hibiscus Rescue One tied up alongside to ensure the vessel was under control, assisted with the anchor retrieval then, due to the weather, slowly towed them back to their mooring.

At 4.30pm, the crew received their third tasking, this time to a 28 foot vessel between Tiri Tiri Matangi and Motuora Island, again with mechanical failure. By this stage the wind was approximately 25-30 knots with a 1-1.5m swell. This vessel was again towed slowly back into Gulf Harbour. 

Then, at 10pm the crew were tasked to search between Bean Rock and Tamaki River because of a flare sighting, with the Eagle helicopter covering from the air. There were multiple vessels in the area, but none in distress so at around 11pm the crew were stood down, and Eagle returned to base.

Due to the time and location, the crew made the decision to stop at the Marine Rescue Centre for a much needed coffee break. It proved to be a great call because at 11:45 there was a Mayday call – a vessel with seven people on board had hit rocks somewhere around the Tamaki River and as the only Coastguard vessel still on the water, the Hibiscus crew were asked to respond.

After some communication challenges, it was discovered that the vessel had hit the Bastion Reef behind the Bean Rock Lighthouse and lost part of their engine. Our crew quickly found the vessel and transferred most of their crew onto our boat as a precaution, then towed their vessel back into Half Moon Bay Marina. 

At 5am a very tired, but elated crew returned back home to Gulf Harbour Marina, having spent New Year’s Eve doing what they do best.