Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Man rescued after clinging to petrol container for 3 hours off Bowentown

John Cousins
By John Cousins
Senior reporter, Bay of Plenty Times·Bay of Plenty Times·
14 Feb, 2016 01:34 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The man clung to a petrol container for three hours. Photo / Supplied

The man clung to a petrol container for three hours. Photo / Supplied

Two men are lucky to be alive when a fishing trip went horribly wrong after their boat was hit by a rogue wave crossing Bowentown bar at 11pm last night.

Neither were wearing lifejackets, leaving them to clamber on to the upturned hull of the capsized 7m aluminium boat as it drifted into the harbour on the incoming tide.

The men aged 40 and 26 stayed put until the tide turned and sucked the boat past Anzac Bay.

They decided to strike out for shore, with the younger stronger swimmer making land while the older man took the precaution of using the drawstring of his shorts to tie his wrist to a yellow 20-litre petrol container.

He failed to make the shore and was sucked out to sea.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The man who made the shore raised the alarm at about 3.50am.

Waihi Coastguard launched Gallagher Rescue and went into a search pattern where they assumed the man would be.

Westpac Rescue Helicopter spotted the man clinging to the yellow drum at 6.40am, about 200m away from where he would have been found by the coastguard's search pattern.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Senior Sergeant Robbie Hermann of Hamilton Police said the rescue involved a significant effort including two helicopters, coastguard rescue boats and IRB's from the Waihi Surf Lifesaving Club.

Gallagher Rescue said the man was still quite lucid and in surprisingly good shape when they picked him up. He was wrapped him in a rescue blanket and taken back to a waiting ambulance at Anzac Bay where he was treated for mild hypothermia by St John paramedics.

Mr Hermann said the event could have so easily ended in tragedy.

Police and Coastguard repeated advice to wear life jackets and use trip reports so that the details of planned journey were logged with Coastguard.

The capsize happened as the men, understood to be from Katikati, were returning to Anzac Bay after a fishing trip to Mayor Island.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter received a call about the missing fishermen from Waikato SAR Police at 5.30am. Westpac Rescue 1 took off from Coromandel Rescue Helicopter Trust at Whitianga for the search.

The boat was recovered and towed back to its trailer at Anzac Bay.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

Nine Lotto players win nearly $31k each in Second Division – where tickets were sold

06 Jul 05:31 AM

Lotto First Division Powerball was not struck and has jackpotted to $10m on Wednesday.

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

Region's first learning hub for migrant parents a 'transformative step'

05 Jul 06:00 PM
'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP