Coastguard – Plan ahead to prevent disaster

Now that 2026 is well underway and the warmer, if not better, weather is with us, the workload of your local coastguard unit has certainly increased. Throughout January, the Hibiscus Unit has responded to around 30 incidents. When responding to these, our volunteer crews drop whatever they are doing and get our rescue vessels on the water to provide whatever assistance is required. It may be as simple as a jump start for a flat battery, a tow home following a mechanical breakdown or a medical event, and our crew are trained for whatever may be thrown at them. 

I wanted to give a thank you to all our crew and masters who have provided many hours on the water assisting the local boating community over this time.

One recent incident stood out and saw our team responding to a call out to assist a 4.5 metre vessel in difficulties off the coast by Hatfields Beach on a very windy Saturday morning. With the wind gusting at 30 to 40 knots, getting a call-out was not what the crew were expecting. Our skipper that day commented that the two young guys we picked up were very lucky. A small boat, big seas, drifting along at roughly 3 knots, and headed for Great Barrier Island, with no VHF, no chain on anchor, and they hadn’t checked the forecast. They were given some friendly advice and I certainly hope they have learned a valuable lesson from their experience, which I’m sure would have been quite frightening.

We love the water, and we want everyone to have a great time and get home safe, every time. If you’re new to boating, you’ll find the key essentials on the Coastguard website detailed below to get you started. Whatever your waka, this has heaps of safety tips and tools for everyone heading out on the water – www.coastguard.nz/boating-essentials/safety-on-the-water

At this busy time for our volunteers responding to call outs on the water, this time of year is also when we are most visible on land raising funds. With the Coastguard Summer Lottery ticket sales underway many of you will have seen the team at local events selling tickets. The summer lottery is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the unit. and with a large part of the ticket cost going to the local unit. we are pushing to sell as many tickets as we can. 

For the Hibiscus Unit, our main fund-raising goal is to raise the money needed to replace our current rescue vessel. Over the next couple of years, the unit will need to fund the larger portion of the replacement cost of a new rescue vessel. It’s a big task and a major focus for us and anyone who knows boats, they are not cheap. We are always on the lookout for new ways to help with our fund-raising efforts and if anyone in the local community has any ideas please reach out and get in touch.

If you want to get to know your local coastguard unit a little better, to get in contact or support us, take a look at our updated webpage: www.coastguardhibiscus.org.nz/