Fisherman helped to shore by guards after kayak takes on water

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A MAN abandoned a kayak he borrowed to free a snagged longline at sea and was helped back to shore by Midway lifeguards yesterday afternoon.

The man, in his 50s, loaned the kayak from other beach-goers but hundreds of metres off the beach the craft began to take on water.

He abandoned it and was swimming back to shore when concerned family members on the beach raised the alarm.

“His family used a smartphone to google the Midway club and got hold of our club administrator,” said Midway patrol supervisor Rama Robertson.

“She called Dave Corrin and he called me, and together with Dave’s 15-year-old son Jacob we went to the club and launched one of our IRBs.”

Mr Corrin and his son drove the IRB to the area along Centennial Marine Drive opposite the former Paokahu rubbish dump.

Mr Robertson rode the club’s quad bike to the location and co-ordinated the rescue.

“The man was wearing a life jacket and some thermal clothing, but he was a long way off the beach,” Mr Corrin said.

“When Jacob and I got to him he was 700 to 800 metres offshore in choppy seas and windy conditions.”

The Corrins picked him up and returned him safely to shore.

“They also recovered the kayak he had been using, which was partially submerged,” Mr Robertson said.

“We think it sprang a leak. We had St John Ambulance on standby but we checked the guy out and he was OK.”

Mr Robertson said the man had been in the water for about 30 minutes.

“He was very relieved to get our help and very thankful for it.”

The lesson with this incident was that now patrols had ended for the summer, if people saw someone in difficulties in the surf they should immediately phone 111 and ask for the police.

“The police will then call in our emergency call-out squad. In this situation we decided that it would be quicker for us to respond and it turned out to be the right decision.”,