Experienced rescuers have praised the readiness of people who found themselves in perilous situations in Northland during the weekend, including a dramatic sea rescue of a stricken yachtie and two adrift divers.
Five people were saved during the weekend in four separate emergencies across the region and an experienced search and rescue boss said a quick response from rescue teams was possible because those venturing into the marine and trekking environments had taken all the right steps in case things turned dangerous.
Search and rescue boss Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe, who co-ordinated all the search operations, praised those who raised the alarm in four of the five rescues and said they had ensured a successful outcome thanks to contingency plans.
The first call came about 4.30am on Saturday, when a yacht ran aground at North Cape.
Skipper Brenan Hutchings, sailing the yacht to Houhora, had abandoned the boat and set off his Emergency
Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). Before abandoning ship, he grabbed a prepacked emergency bag and was wearing an emergency suit. He managed to swim to rocks, where he was airlifted out by the Northland Electricity rescue helicopter.
Mr Metcalfe said the Aucklander had done everything right and had been well equipped.
The search team turned their attention to Uretiti beach and continued their hunt for a missing Russian swimmer. They worked with the Navy but had no luck finding him.
Later on Saturday, about 3.30pm, police received another call about a man who had fallen at the Mermaid Pools at Matapouri and broken his ankle. He had been fishing with three others.
Because of the slippery track leading out from the pools, the man was airlifted out by the rescue helicopter.
About an hour later, police were alerted to two divers, a man and a woman, who went missing while diving at the Poor Knight Islands. They had been diving at the Northern Arch and were more than an hour overdue back to their charter boat.
The pair had been caught in a strong current and had drifted 2km north of where they entered the water.
Nest chief pilot Peter Turnbull said that when flying to the Poor Knights the divers' bright orange inflatable rescue sausages were spotted by the crew. The pair were winched up, one at a time, with all their gear and dropped off at Tutukaka.
The last call for help came on Sunday, when a 67-year-old woman tramping with 11 others on the McKenzie Limestone Track at Springfield, south of Whangarei, fell and broke her ankle. Police and LandSAR members reached the group and stretchered the woman out to a St John ambulance.