The coastguard are reminding people to brush up on their water safety skills as we head into summer.

Last weekend the coastguard was called to help two boaties who had departed Mangawhai on a 4m boat at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning and planned to head to the Hen and Chicken Islands before returning at 2:00 p.m. The alarm was raised some hours later when the pair had failed to return, and neither was answering their mobile phones.

It appeared the vessel had run into mechanical difficulty, a common theme as we head into summer with many boats having sat around for the winter months. 

“It’s great that they told someone where they were going and when they planned to be back but with limited or no communications with them, they were unable to raise the alarm when they found themselves with no way to get home, or help rescuers to narrow the search area quickly”, says Coastguard Duty Officer Nico Dooderman.

“We can’t stress enough the importance of carrying two forms of waterproof communications with you when you head out on the water and to log a trip report with Coastguard Radio. It’s quick and easy to do via the coastguard app. If you’ve been putting it off, now is the time to get your boat serviced before heading out to enjoy the water this summer” said Jo Norgrove, rescue vessel skipper.

As well as making sure you have adequate ways of communicating, here are some other things to get on top of before getting out there this summer:

• Safe enjoyable boating means taking and wearing your lifejackets as the unexpected can happen so quickly.
• Check your batteries and get your engine serviced. Time spent now could save you headaches later. A few quick checks and some basic maintenance, such as replacing old fuel, can make all the difference to the outcome on the water.
• Get a VHF callsign and check your details are correct. A VHF callsign is a unique identifier that holds key information about your vessel and emergency contact. It’s used in an emergency and also when logging a trip report or bar crossing.
• It’s vital that you obtain a weather forecast, understand what effect it will have and continue to monitor the weather while you are out on the water.
• Most drowning in boating accidents involve craft under six metres. Everyone on board boats under six metres should wear a lifejacket.