Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • 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

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

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

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

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 / Hawkes Bay Today

Editorial: Boaties must put safety first

By Andrew Austin
Hawkes Bay Today·
6 Nov, 2014 08:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
If we don't become more safety conscious when we go out on the water, accidents like these two will continue happening, says Andrew Austin. Photo / Paul Taylor

If we don't become more safety conscious when we go out on the water, accidents like these two will continue happening, says Andrew Austin. Photo / Paul Taylor

For the second time in a few weeks a man has died after a boating accident off Mahia Peninsula.

It is startling how similar the two accidents were. In the latest tragedy yesterday, a 13-year-old girl swam to shore and walked 2km to raise the alarm after a boat capsized in Mahia, killing a man.

This followed the death last month of father and digger operator Malcolm Blake, 57. The 12-foot aluminium boat he was skippering capsized in rough seas off Mahia Peninsula. He was checking crayfish pots with three friends, a married couple and their teenage son. None of the boat occupants were wearing life jackets and they managed to swim to shore, where Mr Blake died. The teenage boy clambered up a 30-metre cliff face and hiked 2km to get help.

Details of yesterday's accident are still to be fully determined but with summer approaching and more people getting out on the water, boaties have to be careful when they go out.

The coastline along Mahia Peninsula is spectacular but quite rugged and obviously the message is not getting through.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In both cases, young children were involved in these disasters and it must have been really traumatic for them. Not only were they part of the accidents, they had to run, probably terrified, to seek help.

All people using boats this summer need to realise that the ocean needs to be taken seriously and life jackets need to be worn at all times.

If we don't become more safety conscious when we go out on the water, accidents like these two will continue happening.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Let's all work together to avoid any more boating tragedies.

Discover more

Boatie dies after capsize

16 Oct 09:00 PM

Life jackets on statues in bid to get home water safety message

17 Oct 11:00 PM

Man dead in boating accident near Mahia Peninsula

06 Nov 12:18 AM
New Zealand

'Brave' girl raises alarm after capsize

06 Nov 09:00 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay wool queen sells business to retire after almost 50 years

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

'Sense of community': Youngest frontline ambulance officer wins award

Hawkes Bay Today

From Hastings to the world stage: Teen chess champ heads to Colombia


Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Premium
Hawke’s Bay wool queen sells business to retire after almost 50 years
Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke’s Bay wool queen sells business to retire after almost 50 years

'I really believe that the young ones are going to come in and just be more innovative.'

13 Aug 06:11 PM
Premium
Premium
'Sense of community': Youngest frontline ambulance officer wins award
Hawkes Bay Today

'Sense of community': Youngest frontline ambulance officer wins award

13 Aug 06:00 PM
From Hastings to the world stage: Teen chess champ heads to Colombia
Hawkes Bay Today

From Hastings to the world stage: Teen chess champ heads to Colombia

13 Aug 06:00 PM


Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet
Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

10 Aug 09:12 PM
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
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP