Professional lifeguard Tai Kahn (right) and Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service chairman David Butt.
Muriwai Surf Life Saving club chairman David Butt last night praised four of his volunteer members, Peter and Lincoln Baltus, Tane Moore and Mark Goodheuw, who battled 2.5 metre waves near the gannet colony.
And he also praised Tai Kahn, a professional lifeguard, who arrived on the scene in the Westpac rescue helicopter to join the four volunteers from the club's callout squad.
It started with a caller telling police he was at the gannet colony and could hear someone yelling for help but could not see anyone, only a surfboard being tossed around in the surging seas below.
The police Eagle helicopter searched the rocks and the club's RIB could not get safely near the spot.
Peter Baltus dived into the churning sea and found the teenager clinging to a boulder but was washed away from him by a large set of waves before Mr Kahn dived into the water from the rescue helicopter and was able to reach the surfer.
"It certainly was a brave and daring rescue," said Mr Butt.
"But it's an automatic thing that lifeguards train to do and we spend a lot of time around those rocks and are used to that environment."
Mr Kahn has 15 years' experience as a lifeguard and is the Surf Life Saving northern operations support officer based at Mechanics Bay, Auckland.
"It was solid conditions and it was challenging but we have a job to do and you focus on the job," Mr Kahn told the Herald last night.
"I was in the chopper, I assessed the scene and saw what needed to be done and it was obvious I had to get in the water.
"The biggest problem was getting him out of the little cave and back into the water safely without him getting battered by the waves and once I had him in the rescue tube, I saw the panic drain from his face and he relaxed. I always thought I could get him out."
The surfer received superficial cuts but Mr Kahn said the event might have had a different result if it were not for the combined work of the police, the rescue helicopter service, Surf Life Saving northern operations and the Muriwai callout squad.
"It was fantastic inter-agency cooperation and communications to get the job done."
Surf Life Saving New Zealand chose the Muriwai club as regional and national winner for the BP Rescue of the Month. It received a $500 fuel voucher.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand chairman Geoff Hamilton said the lifeguards' efforts were outstanding and those involved in the rescue showed admirable skill and professionalism.
