Keeping the seas safe for all
SUMMERTIME is great for Wellington’s boaties, at least until bad things happen. That’s when the coastguard swings into gear.
Vicki Rowland, of Coastguard Wellington, says it can have one of its two rescue vessels, manned by volunteers, out on the water within 20 minutes after it is alerted.
They go out in all conditions in the harbour and Cook Strait, doing anything from rescues in high seas through to towing back boats which have had mechanical failure or run out of fuel.
Sometimes they can even see something bad is likely to unfold and be ready to swoop in to help.
One recent case was on Wellington harbour, when a coastguard crew saw two men fishing from an inflatable plastic raft meant more for a swimming pool than the sea.
‘‘We told them the weather was going to turn to the south and we advised them to get ashore pretty quickly.’’
‘‘They said, ‘Nah, nah, we’re fine’ and kept on fishing.’’
Ms Rowland says the coastguard can only advise people what to do, so the crew decided to hang around not too far away to keep an eye on things.
‘‘Within about half an hour, the wind and state of the sea had changed and they were drifting pretty rapidly across the harbour.
‘‘We went straight over to them and they were that keen to get on board they were almost airborne.’’ The coastguard even managed to rescue their raft.
‘‘We always try to retrieve everything we can. The people are the most important thing, so if we have to leave any vessel or whatever behind, we will, but in the 10 years I’ve been here, we’ve never done that.’’
Ms Rowland is rated as master, in the parlance of the coastguard. That means she has progressed through the various training pathways to the senior rank of master. She is also president of the unit and one of the key leaders at Coastguard Wellington.
The group was set up after the Wahine disaster in Wellington Harbour in 1968, which claimed 53 lives. It was decided the city needed a dedicated rescue service and since then it has been helping people on the water in all seasons and weather.
The coastguard doesn’t receive Government funding and relies on fundraising to run its two vessels and pay for costs.
Ms Rowland says belonging to the service appeals to a wide range of people for all sorts of reasons.
For some, it is the chance to pick up boating and marine skills. For others, it may be a bit of adventure, but she says underlying any volunteer’s motivation is a strong desire to help people.
People interested in joining the coastguard can sign up via the website, and there are a number of areas where people can volunteer. People can train as a crew member on one of the vessels that the coastguard run from Evans Bay. They can be a radio operator, a combination of both, or even turn their hand to administration tasks.
Coastguard Wellington has its base fully manned every weekend and on public holidays, and it uses a paging system to get operational crews the rest of the time.
‘‘The call-out crew have got the approval from their employers to basically drop tools and go and we can have a boat on the water in about 20 minutes.’’
Training is a mixture of theory, such as the principles behind running a search at sea, which would then be reinforced with on-the-water training and there are a number of levels they can work towards.
People don’t even have to go to sea to support the coastguard, Ms Rowland says. It also has a supporting level of membership of people who provide financial support.
Previous boating experience isn’t vital for those signing up, nor is being a strong swimmer, although people do have to be able to move through the water in the unlikely event that they end up separated from the boat. ‘‘The majority have had boating experience, but we have some who haven’t,’’ Ms Rowland says.
And there’s no one profile of who makes up a coastguard volunteer.
‘‘We have people from all kinds of backgrounds – university students, senior management, mechanics and engineers. ‘‘You name them, we’ve got them. The only common denominator is their volunteers all like to help people.
‘‘And it helps if you don’t get seasick.’’
For more information, go to:
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