MASTER OF THE SEA
Coastguard volunteer Vicki Rowland is ready for action
Ispent my childhood in Whangarei and believe I was very lucky to have grown up there. I would always be out on my parents’ boat in the Bay of Islands during the summer. My parents were Coastguard volunteers as well and they would use their own launch as a rescue boat. So, I think it’s fair to say Coastguard is in my blood!
I’m just coming up to my 16th anniversary in Coastguard. While I don’t feel like a newbie, I’m definitely not the most seasoned. We have people who have been here for 30 and 40 years, so I’m just one of the middle people. I don’t know where the time has gone!
I became the president in 2011 and, while I’m the second woman to hold the job, I will soon be the longest-serving president for Coastguard Wellington.
I’m also a master in my unit, which means I can lead a crew on the water.
On the water, I’ll skipper a crew about one day a month. But those days are long – 10 hours in the summer and nine hours in the winter.
I carry a pager so whenever there is a call out, I can drop everything and go. I’m incredibly fortunate to have a really understanding family, especially my partner and stepdaughter, who often miss out on my time, and an employer who will let me go whenever I have to, because this is a volunteer position.
I work full-time as a plumbing sales rep, and I’m very lucky to be able to just drop my tools and go.
Every search stands out to me. Someone might be in trouble or a person might be missing. We’ve had kayakers, divers, you name it, get in trouble on the water. The thing about Wellington is that the conditions can change very quickly, which local people do know, but there are those who aren’t used to the conditions.
My favourite thing is when you’ve brought someone home safely and you can see in their face they are grateful. There’s nothing more rewarding!
I will say, though, the most memorable thing I’ve done in this job is probably the deliberate sinking of the F69 Frigate, HMNZS Wellington, which was sunk in 2005. It was quite different to our normal day-to-day of towing boats or search and rescue.
We were responsible for getting everyone off the frigate just before it sank and running the detonation cable over to the person for them to press the button. It was quite an amazing day!
Other things we are often involved with are events and even fireworks displays. And this month, we are very involved in commemorating 50 years since the Wahine disaster.
After the Wahine disaster in 1968, a group of people from the rescue effort got together and made the call that there was a need for a dedicated marine rescue service on Wellington Harbour. Coastguard Wellington came about in direct response to that tragedy.
It also means that our unit will be turning 50, which will be a celebration as we look at how far we’ve come in the years since.
Things have changed a lot over the years. Our vessels are quicker, they can respond faster than we could, the technology to find people and other vessels is a lot better, and our navigation equipment has improved greatly. Basically, we are more equipped to deal with an emergency than many years ago!
But, of course, it will also be a commemoration. On
April 10, we’ll have both our vessels on the water, we’ll be scattering flowers for all the souls that were lost on that day and we’ll be laying a wreath.”
‘My favourite thing is when you have brought someone home safely and you can see in their face they are grateful’