Coastguard trial in ‘stunning part of NZ’ that keeps getting busier
A summer trial of a coastguard crew in Havelock is building a strong business case to make the move permanent.
Coastguard Marlborough has started running a boat out of Havelock, to better serve the Kenepuru and Pelorus sounds, in December.
The trial runs until the end of February. Coastguard Marlborough has always been based out of Picton, in the Queen Charlotte Sound.
A callout last year was the perfect example as to why a crew in Havelock made sense.
Mark Taylor, Coastguard Marlborough committee member and Havelock superviser, said they got called to a family “caught in a storm” in Beatrix Bay, in the Pelorus Sound.
The rescue would have required a crew to travel the length of Queen Charlotte Sound, out the Northern Entrance, round Cape Jackson, back in through Waitata Reach and back up into Beatrix Bay.
In the end, they got a Havelock resident to go and get the family, two adults and three children in his “big launch”.
He took the wife and children in his boat, and the husband followed behind, using the launch “as a break”.
They only needed to get across to a nearby bay, where they were staying, Taylor said.
The trip, given it was in “nasty weather” and it was getting dark, would have taken the Coastguard a couple of hours. With a boat in Havelock, they could have “zipped out ... no dilemma”, Taylor said.
The Coastguard out of Picton would have used about 1800 litres, or $5500 worth, of fuel getting to Beatrix Bay and back, he said.
The Coastguard had been relying on “Good Samaritans” and private companies in Havelock for years, but it was a “huge risk” for them and their equipment, Taylor said.
That was why the Havelock community had been “so supportive” of the trial, which had so far received six callouts, mainly for tows, he said.
“The support has been incredible. People are so thankful for us being out there.”
The Kenepuru Sound was “massive” and a Havelock unit had been talked about for years, Taylor said.
The timing of the trial just fell into place, he said, as a 6.8m Naiad was about to be retired in the Wellington region.
Starting a unit normally required drilling into the data - how many boaties, how many call-outs, what police thought - over many months, in part because of the cost, but with a boat available Coastguard Marlborough was able to fast-track a trial period.
Marina cameras showed the Pelorus and Kenepuru sounds had “dramatically increased in popularity” in the past five years, Taylor explained, adding that it was a “stunning, stunning part of New Zealand”.
The Havelock boat was manned by three dedicated volunteers: one who was ex-US Navy and a volunteer firefighter; and one who “sailed halfway around the world” in her 20s; and Taylor, who started sailing in Queen Charlotte Sound when he was 5 and had competed in Starling nationals.
They still needed a skipper to come from Picton, but would like to end up with two skippers based in Havelock.
Before that, though, they had to keep building a business case for Havelock to put to Coastguard NZ. So Taylor was putting out a strange plea, in a way.
“We don’t want people to have an accident but for the unit to stay we need people to pick up the phone and give us a call. We are here to serve the community ... and the more call-outs we can get, the stronger the business case.”
In an emergency on the water, call 111 or use channel 16. For non-urgent assistance, call *500 or use Nelson Marlborough Marine Radio.