National Volunteer Week: Hawke’s Bay coastguard Matt Harvey shares important safety message during record season

Hawke’s Bay’s hard-working volunteer coastguards attend about 40 call-outs a year on average from October to August. This year, that number was already reached by January, with one particular week when crews put in what would be equivalent to a full week of work, often after finishing their day jobs, to help save lives. Skipper and joint operations manager Matthew Harvey says there’s one vital thing people should do that could be the difference between life and death. Mitchell Hageman reports.

It’s hard for Hawke’s Bay volunteer coastguard Matt Harvey to remember a season this busy in his nearly 10 years of service.

“There was one week alone where we had three jobs over 10 hours. We put in about 45 hours that week,” he told Hawke’s Bay Today.

From battling waves that blasted over the roof of their trusty 1000-horsepower boat Celia Knowles, to searching kilometres out from shore for a lost swimmer, no day was the same for Harvey and his crew.

Volunteer coastguard Matthew Harvey has seen plenty of rescues on Hawke's Bay's Celia Knowles rescue craft. Last summer was one of their biggest seasons yet. Photo / Warren Buckland

“For most of us, we worked during the day in our day jobs and were out at sea for 10 hours.”

During that intense period, one particular job tested Harvey and his crew to their limit: a mayday call near Mahia that led to 14 hours spent rescuing a distressed launch, which eventually beached.

“Although we’ve had some serious jobs, that one has probably trumped the rest.

“Even the rescue helicopter couldn’t manage to get through the weather. We couldn’t see and had waves breaking over the boat’s roof.”

Vomiting, stress, and physical pain were all standard things that came with the sometimes-misunderstood job.

Harvey said the knowledge they’d helped people get back safely to their families kept him going, and that was highlighted when he brought in the struggling boaties.

“Sometimes you question why you’re there, but you think back to the people, and if you aren’t there, then these people aren’t coming home.”

The call from Mahia could’ve been much worse had there not been a Mayday call.

Harvey said there were plenty of incidents in Hawke’s Bay where the team could’ve been there much faster if the vessel had radio messaged in with a free trip report.

“Trip reports are one of the biggest things we lack here in Hawke’s Bay. There will be 300 boats out on a good summer’s day, and we might get 30 people telling us their information,” he said.

“It makes a big difference. It creates the fastest response and gives us so much vital information.”

He recalled an incident “about three years ago” when a boat left without warning to collect cray pots.

“We checked our reports. There wasn’t a trip report, so we had nothing. All we know is that the boat left Mahia.”

The missing crew were found stranded on Portland Island hours later, thanks to a muffled phone call sent to the police giving Coastguard the rough location, which was luckily where they had focused their efforts.

“The boat hit a rock and sank within 30 seconds. They swam to shore and were very beaten up from the rocks and the reefs.

“If we had a trip report and had they been prepared, they would’ve been rescued three hours prior. A 10-second radio communication can be the difference between life and death.”

Matt Harvey says people can support Hawke's Bay Coastguard by practising safe boating behaviours. Photo / Warren Buckland

Harvey said Coastguard was often incorrectly compared to the United States Coastguard, which focuses on punitive measures.

“We’re not law enforcement; we are marine search and rescue. That is what we do.”

People could support their local Coastguard by becoming members, which helps fund rescue services, or signing up as volunteers.

All volunteers had to do was be “keen to turn up and give it their all” because Coastguard provided all relevant training.

“We’ve had people join our unit that have never been on a boat other than maybe a ferry,” Harvey said.

But one of the biggest things people could do to support was keep safe.

“Looking after the people on your boat, wearing a lifejacket and logging a trip report are just some things people can do to make our job easier.”

Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.