Missing box returned after month at sea
A Niwa scientist has been reunited with his waterproof case after it spent a month at sea.
On April 9, marine ecologist Mike Townsend was finishing up routine ecological monitoring for Auckland Council in the Kaipara Harbour.
Just before 5pm, he and his colleagues headed back to shore. When they got there, they realised Townsend’s Pelican waterproof security box was missing.
Inside the box were his phone, his work and personal wallets, his house keys, his motel key, and his diabetic medication.
‘‘It was really my life in that box and it was gone. I knew it had been sitting on the bench of the boat and I soon realised it must have gone overboard on our way in.’’
He hadn’t eaten since 11am that day and he couldn’t eat again until he had insulin.
They headed back out, trying to retrace their trip using GPS, but it was getting dark. About 25 minutes into the search, they gave up.
Townsend caught the bus home to Hamilton to get medication and never expected to see his box again.
‘‘A lot worse things have happened on boats in the Kaipara, but it was absolutely gut-wrenching.’’
To replace the case and everything inside would have cost about $1400, he said.
On May 6, Townsend received a miracle voicemail. John Sellers called to say he’d found Townsend’s grey box.
Sellers was walking his dogs at a beach about 15km from Waiuku when he came across it. Everything inside was in perfect condition.
Townsend told Sellers to use the $50 note in one of his wallets to courier the case back and buy himself some beer as a thank-you.
‘‘It was a jaw-dropping moment. I’m just so lucky to get it back.’’
The box had spent about a month at sea, survived two large storms, including the tail end of Cyclone Cook, and travelled 130 kilometres south.
It floated by Muriwai and Piha and past the Manukau Harbour entrance before washing up on the west coast of the Awhitu Peninsula.