It has been a busy weekend for surf lifeguards across the country who undertook 11 rescues and responded to several other significant incidents.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand CEO Steve Fisher says that the incidents required an urgent response by surf lifeguards.
“Our surf lifeguards put in nearly 6,000 hours of volunteer time over the weekend keeping people safe. I want to thank all the surf lifeguards involved in these incidents, but particularly those who responded to a boat flipping at the Raglan bar, and those surf lifeguards from Waipu Cove Surf Life Saving Club and Ruakākā Surf Lifesaving Patrol who were involved in a search on Friday and Saturday. In both incidents, the actions and efforts of these surf lifeguards were exemplary.
“Our thoughts are also with the friends and whānau of the woman who died at Bream Bay. Every death along New Zealand’s coastline weighs heavily on the Surf Life Saving community and has a profound impact on those involved,” he says.
At Raglan, surf lifeguards had a climactic end to their patrol on Sunday. At approximately 4:30pm, after patrol had ended, a group of surf lifeguards was doing IRB training, with two boats on the water and a third on the beach. A member of the public approached the surf club and informed them that a boat had flipped crossing the Raglan bar in large surf.
Surf lifeguards responded immediately in one IRB, with the second returning to shore to swap crew. Approximately four minutes after they were first made aware of the incident, the first IRB reached the submerged boat―a small fibreglass fishing boat―and rescued two patients from the water.
As the IRB returned to shore transporting the first two patients, who were in a moderate condition, the second IRB arrived and began searching for the third patient. They couldn’t see them in the waves and returned to the overturned boat. A surf lifeguard entered the water to check the boat.
The lifeguard knocked on the hull. The patient was trapped in the forward cabin of the boat and unable to get out. The surf lifeguard managed to open the hatch door of the cabin and rescue the person..
By this time the first IRB had returned to the scene and collected the third patient in a serious condition as the surf lifeguard swam back to the second IRB.
All three patients were handed over to St John Ambulance staff and were transported to hospital.
But their work wasn’t done. While returning to the club, the surf lifeguards rescued a swimmer from a rip in front of the Raglan patrol tower. Meanwhile, surf lifeguards on the beach provided assistance to two body boarders caught in a rip, who then managed to get back to shore of their own accord.
“Thankfully, the three fishing boat patients were wearing lifejackets, which is likely responsible for saving their lives,” says Steve Fisher. “The situation could have been very different otherwise.”
