Coastguard – Winter homework

Winter is here so why not use it to build your boating knowledge. People generally either grow up in a boating family or they decide after leaving home that they will take up boating. In either case, there is never much in the way of formal education. Coastguard provides courses in various areas of boating. Just Google ‘Boating Education NZ’.

Do you have a GPS and/or radar? Many people don’t use GPS to its full potential and sometimes it misleads you if you’re not aware. For example, I had a call out once to a fisherperson who gave their position slap bang in the centre of Little Barrier. They read the GPS position of the cursor on the screen rather than the boat position. Do you know the difference? How does it all work? Boating Education can help answer these questions and build your knowledge.

Let’s look at something basic. You’re out on the water and you want to call Coastguard. You want to do a trip report or maybe your engine won’t start. Come to that, what is a trip report? I have been asked more than once how you do these things.

You can’t legally use a VHF at sea except for emergencies, unless you have done a VHF course. Again, these are run by Boating Education. The course covers what channels are allocated for various uses, how to do a Mayday call, and how the maritime radio system works including repeater stations. Courses can be online or as part of a class.

There are many other classes such as outboard and inboard maintenance, and using charts for navigation. All are available to help build knowledge, or polish the knowledge and skills you have.

If you are starting from a low knowledge base, possibly start with a Day Skipper or Boatmaster course, and then decide if you want to do a “deeper dive” into specialist areas..

On another topic, we had a callout recently to Torkington Bay for a jet ski that wouldn’t start. It highlighted an obvious point – the sea temperature is now down to around 17C. If you go out on a jet ski, you are more exposed than on a boat. Make sure you have enough protective clothing to keep warm. Even if you are only going out for an hour or so to fish, plan on being out for longer, just in case you break down. Have the right clothing, life jackets and water, as well as communications. It might be nice when you go out, but it gets cold quickly at sundown.

One other thing to do is make sure you renew your coastguard membership. At only $150 a year, it saves having to pay $350 an hour if we come out to you in non-life threatening situations. Also, remember to put down Kawau Rescue as your local unit.