A dramatic rescue mission in heavy seas off the Waimarama coast in June earned Coastguard Hawke's Bay the Performance of the Year trophy at the service's annual awards in Christchurch.
"To get that sort of recognition amongst your peers at national level is pretty special," Coastguard Hawke's Bay president Dick Hilton
said today.
Mr Hilton said he had been humbled by picking up the award in such company, and that it was the result of a committed "team effort" by the volunteers who made up the service.
He also praised the commitment of crews aboard the three trawlers and the Port of Napier pilot launch which also took part in the rescue.
The weekend award came a month after the service picked up the Eastern Region Performance of the Year title for its "exceptional commitment" to engaging and educating the wider community as well as the dramatic rescue.
The rescue pushed the service to the limit, with one of the two crew rescued from the launch, Geisha, saying later that had the conditions been the slightest bit worse "there would have been deaths".
The vessel was being ferried from Picton to Auckland when it began taking on water just south of Waimarama. The 19-hour rescue effort involved 272 Coastguard man hours, involved 13 crew on four vessels, six radio operators, five search and rescue incident control team members and three base support crew.
Coastguard New Zealand chief executive officer Bruce Reid described the Hawke's Bay team as an "outstanding example" of commitment and heroism.
He also praised the Hawke's Bay service's pro-active funding and educational programmes, and devotion to maintaining a strong profile in the region.
