Thieves hit Coastguard volunteer Ayden Armitage's work van when he was attending a distress call from the yacht Westlake Boys teacher Simon Smith (inset) was on. Photo / Chris Weissenborn, NZDF
Thieves hit Coastguard volunteer Ayden Armitage's work van when he was attending a distress call from the yacht Westlake Boys teacher Simon Smith (inset) was on. Photo / Chris Weissenborn, NZDF
A Coastguard volunteer involved in a dramatic early morning rescue where a man died had his work van broken into and gear stolen when he was on the water.
Unit president Ayden Armitage was aboard Kokako Rescue and answering a distress call from injured crew on a boat in theCoastal Classic yacht race on Friday when his van was broken into.
Westlake Boys High School teacher Simon Smith had been fatally struck by the boom in rough seas and two other crew members were injured during the annual race.
Armitage said returning to base after a rescue mission where someone had died was always tough.
“I was absolutely gutted returning to base dealing with the loss of life so this was a bit of a kick in the guts,” Armitage said.
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“We are all volunteers and it was my work van so that’s a real inconvenience to lose stuff but it pales in comparison to what Simon’s family and friends are going through.”
Coastguard volunteer Ayden Armitage was on a rescue mission for Westlake teacher Simon Smith when his work van was broken into.
“My stuff can be replaced so it’s nothing compared to losing someone.”
Thieves smashed the passenger’s window of Armitage’s work van and took tools and bags from the front seats.
They also stole the number plates from another volunteer’s car.
“They took my toolbelt and a couple of grand’s worth of gear. They even took my bath bag with my toothbrush.”
Armitage thought the thieves were “on a bit of a spree” because there had been reports of other break-ins nearby.
The smashed window and stolen gear topped off an emotional and physically draining night for the crew who spent four hours in rough seas during the rescue.
Kokako Rescue received the distress call from the yacht Smith was aboard at 11.29pm.
The Coastguard crew was already on the water, undergoing an intentionally-timed training run, so headed straight out to meet the yacht at Deepwater Cove.
They boarded the yacht at 1am with a medical kit and defibrillator but Smith had died.
The other sailors were assessed, including two with moderate injuries, and Kokako Rescue accompanied the yacht back to Ōpua, where an ambulance met them to further treat the men.
“It was pitch black and some of the roughest seas I had seen there, 4.5 metre swells and 30 knots,” Armitage said.
The crew guided the yacht back in “terrible conditions”, avoiding numerous boats with broken gear and those still sailing in the Coastal Classic.
