Teen rescued after crossing strait
A man who set out from the South Island in a dinghy with nothing but a life jacket and a cellphone is lucky to be alive after being found off the coast of Porirua, police say.
Speaking to Stuff yesterday, Senior Sergeant Dave Houston, officer in charge of the Wellington police maritime unit, said the 18-year-old, who set off about 10pm on Wednesday near Kenepuru Sound near the top of the South Island, was ‘‘a bit confused’’ when police contacted him.
He was only discovered when – after travelling overnight through the Pelorus Sounds in a motorised dinghy and then crossing Cook Strait – he was able to ring the harbourmaster yesterday about 9am.
The harbourmaster then contacted police, who made contact with the teen on his phone. ‘‘There was a little bit of confusion on where he was . . . [he] told us he’d broken down.’’
The teen estimated he was a ‘‘couple kilometres’’ away from Mana Island, near Porirua but he had broken down and wanted to get to Porirua Harbour, Houston said.
Police texted his phone and, after he responded to it, emergency services were able to get his location. He ended up being about 12km west of Mana Island.
‘‘He was a little bit confused where he was. He was in reasonable spirits, [it was] just a bit odd,’’ Houston said.
The reason given for his late night voyage was ‘‘essentially, [he] wanted to visit a relative in Wellington’’, Houston said.
He packed extra fuel, and was wearing a life jacket but other than that and a cellphone there was nothing else.
After police got his exact position, they dispatched Coastguard to attend, and the police launch also responded. Maritime radio also put a call out to other boats in the area to look out for the teen.
‘‘[He was] definitely relieved [when we got him], and saturated – we put some warm blankets on him.’’
A paramedic on board the Westpac rescue helicopter, which was also sent to the scene, was winched down to assess him. Houston said he was in a ‘‘pretty good’’ state, which surprised emergency services.
He had no food or water, but was in ‘‘good spirits’’ and appeared healthy.
Houston said the teen didn’t check the forecast before leaving the South Island. Fortunately, for his sake, Houston said, conditions were ‘‘pretty good’’, other than a slight southerly blowing.
‘‘It would’ve been a bit choppy for a dinghy.’’
Last night, the teen was ‘‘in Wellington somewhere’’, presumably with the relatives he was visiting, Houston said. The rescue was all done before noon on yesterday.
He was taken from the water to Mana Marina, while the Coastguard towed his boat into shore. His relatives were there and looked after him.
Police had contacted his relatives, who were ‘‘very concerned about what he’d done’’, Houston said, and ‘‘very relieved to find out that he was safe and well’’.
‘‘He was incredibly lucky. To do something like that at night time – to cross one of the most treacherous waters, [there’s] strong tides that go through there, rips, and the weather is unpredictable. It’s a piece of water you’ve got to treat with respect,’’ Houston said. ‘‘If small boats do it, [they’ve got to be] well prepared.’’
Voyagers should also always let others know about their plans. Houston said he didn’t know if the teen was with a boating club, however he lived somewhere in the top of the South Island. As for how he planned to get back? ‘‘I don’t think he probably thought of that,’’ Houston said.
‘‘Hopefully not back on the boat. He’s going to look after the dinghy.’’
Houston said the operation would have turned into a massive search if the teen didn’t have his phone on him. ‘‘The mobile . . . literally saved his life.’’