The Coastguard’s call
From off-kilter kite surfers to stricken yachts in stormy seas, Nelson’s Volunteer Coastguard Unit has been the ever-present protector of those in trouble while on the sea.
Every hour of every day, the unit is on call to help those needing assistance, from Stephens Island to the Whanganui Inlet on the West Coast.
Its genesis was one night in 1975, when a boat returning to Nelson harbour came across a man clinging to one of the port’s channel markers. His boat had sunk, but noone else was aware of the incident.
It prompted 35 boating and radio enthusiasts to form a marine rescue group for the region on November 24 that year.
In 1977, a 4.3m inflatable boat with a 40-horsepower outboard motor was donated to the unit. It became established with the Nelson police, who at the time had no dedicated vessels available for marine search and rescue.
By 1992, and now part of the national Coastguard organisation, the unit had moved into its present base on Wakefield Quay.
Since then, it members have put out fires, guided boats out of danger and retrieved many cold or injured – but ultimately grateful – boat users from the unforgiving seas around our region.
New boat ‘‘a game changer"
Nelson crew member Pete Kara is on Coastguard’s national board and has been a volunteer since 2005. His rationale for securing a new boat is simple – to continue bringing people home to their families.
‘‘I think now with faster boats and communications these days, there is that expectation that we’ll be out there in minutes from when our pagers go off.
‘‘We’ll be there as quick as we can, and that’s always our aim, but if we don’t have the right tools and resources and the properly trained crew, then those things can’t happen.’’
The new vessel will offer further operational range, state-of-the-art technology and increased roughweather capability. Diesel power and longer-range fuel tanks mean it can remain engaged for longer periods, while twin jet drives remove the hazard of propellers.
Because the unit is often involved with 10- to 12-hour searches for missing divers, vessels or fishermen in one of the broadest patrol areas in New Zealand, Kara said the hardest thing to do was pull away from the search area to refuel or change crews when there was someone out there who needed saving.
‘‘When you can’t find an individual, it’s quite gutwrenching, because you know there is a likelihood that they’ve drowned but you can’t do anything, so you’ve got to pull away at last light and start again fresh in the morning. That’s hard to do that, because you know there’s a family waiting to hear what the result is.
‘‘The boat will only stay in the water as long as the crew can, so it’ll have some additional things which will allow the crew to be out on the water for longer in doing those searches. This will be a game changer in that respect.’’
Having a closed-in vessel and an all-weather stretcher bay would protect the crews as well as those rescued, Kara said.
‘‘A lot of the people we pick up come out of the water with hypothermia, so the last thing they need is be put on an open boat and exposed to the ravages of the wind while we get them out of there.’’
Valued at $1.3 million, the new 11.3m Naiad vessel is almost 3m longer than Coastguard’s current vessel and will be based at Port Nelson.
It is similar to one already in use at Kaiko¯ura. Local team members have been sent to familiarise themselves with that vessel, which Kara said had offered a glimpse into how beneficial an upgrade would be for Nelson.
‘‘One of the things we try and do is get some consistency around the vessels, and so in Nelson we’ve done just that – we’ve taken another design from one that’s already in service and been able to say, ‘This is what the finished product will look like, and are there any changes we need to make for our own local conditions?’.
‘‘Kaiko¯ura’s got some pretty rugged coastline, similar to what we’ve got up here, so that’s been really useful.’’
Crew of contrasts
The Nelson unit is comprised of an eclectic group of men and women volunteers whose individual talents are utilised to ensure the unit runs smoothly.
Drop by one of the unit’s twiceweekly training sessions and you’ll meet a range of livelihoods, from a retired psychologist to a builder.
President Wayne Harrison has a background in the Royal Air Force, while Kara’s CV includes stints as a weapons inspector overseas and in emergency management for Nelson Marlborough Health.
All of them share either a love of the sea or a desire to give back to the community using their training and experiences.
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