“The decision to cross a bar carries significant risk due to the number of variables in play. Expert advice given during a bar call does not have the hands-on and real-time context the skipper of the vessel will have. For example, tide, sea state, time of day, skipper’s experience and the size and type of vessel.
He said a recent survey showed skippers were using a range of technologies now available more commonly than the bar calling service.
Johnston said the fishing club had canvassed its membership of more than 3000.
“We’ve had an overwhelming response of over 94 per cent of respondents ... [they] said that they utilise and would like to continue using the service.”
Johnston, who has been boating in the Eastern Bay since his family first moved to Thornton more than 40 years ago, said calling the bar was the most important tool in the boating toolbox for skippers to assess risk, along with checking the coastguard webcam, the tides and the weather.
“It reduces the risk considerably,” he said.
He felt the webcam, weather reports and tides were not sufficient tools to judge conditions on the bar.
Johnston and his father, George, operated a rescue service on the Rangitaiki River entrance, out of Thornton, going back 40 years, and said a decision to extend the calling the bar service to Thornton made a noticeable difference in the number of incidents.
The regional council said the bar calling service for the Whakatāne bar did not include the Thornton bar, which could have very different conditions.
However, Johnston said public broadcasting of the regional council’s reports of the bar conditions, which mentioned “there’s every likelihood that all other bars are in a similar condition”, had made a noticeable difference in the number of incidents.
“We went from having multiple incidences, double-figured, to almost zero. It’s one every several years now. I don’t believe we’ve lost a life since that happened. To not have it, potentially, it’s going to see us revert back to a high number of incidents and loss of life.”
He felt there should have been consultation with both the sport fishing club and Coastguard Whakatāne before any change was made.
“It’s the wrong attitude to take on human safety. It doesn’t make sense to get rid of something as simple and easy as this,” he said.
The regional council has said Whakatāne bar was the only one in the country with a bar calling service.
Johnston said it was wrong to draw comparisons as Whakatāne’s harbour was very different to any other port in New Zealand.
“This is one of the most highly-utilised river ports in New Zealand. Here, it requires an expert opinion to understand what the risks are. We get a lot of tourists, we get a lot of people who don’t have any experience or any knowledge. They are the people who are most at risk.”
Charter boat operator Goose Haddock, who had been operating out of the Whakatāne port for 46 years, agreed it was important for less experienced boaties, particularly those in smaller boats.
He said it was particularly important for people coming from out of town. Boaties came from as far away as Rotorua or Galatea.
“They can check the bar condition before they leave home. If they are trying to assess it once they get here, they’ve already travelled a long way. They’re less likely to want to turn around and go home and decide to risk it. I’ve seen it before.”
He said he had not known there were plans to stop calling the bar until it was announced last week.
“I saw it on Facebook one day and it was stopping the next day.”
Peters said to support safe decision-making on the water the regional council were continuing to focus on creating safer boating resources, supporting Coastguards’ bar awareness seminars and tutorials, enhancing existing bar cameras and encouraging all skippers to seek out skills they need to “have a safe and enjoyable day on the water”.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
