Surf Life Saving club captain Max Jones gives his advice for staying safe in the water this summer. Video / NZ Herald
This summer NZME is helping Surf Life Saving to help save lives. The charity relies on the goodwill of thousands of volunteers, fundraising, grants and sponsorship to keep our beaches patrolled. Here's your chance to help raise money for new equipment and lifeguard training.
Police have identified the deceasedman who was found by a passing boatie in a channel of water in the southeast coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.
The man was found about 150m-200m north of the Beach Rd boat ramp in Whangamatā.
He was brought to shore and CPR was commenced, in vain.
Sergeant Will Hamilton said: "It appears that the man in the water has been deceased for a matter of hours."
Hamilton said police wanted to thank members of the public for the information they had provided and extend their "deepest condolences" to the man's family.
The man is in his mid-70s and likely to be a Whangamatā local but police are yet to publicly release his name.
Police are still investigating the circumstances before the man's death.
A St John spokesman confirmed they had attended to two patients, who had not been injured.
Earlier a person was also involved in a water incident at Hot Water Beach, near Pye Place.
A St John spokesman said the male patient sustained moderate injuries about 12.45pm and was taken to Thames Hospital.
Meanwhile, Surf Life Saving Northern Region's Operational Manager Alan Gibson said it's been a busy season for the volunteer organisation.
One person was rescued on New Years Eve in 57th search and rescue in the last 28 weeks for the Northern Region's Surf Lifesaving teams.
Surf Life Saving Northern Region's manager said it's been a busy season for Surf Lifesaving. Photo / File
On Monday alone, Surf Life Saving prevented 1176 incidents in the Northern Region, meaning that if lifeguards had not been there, the actions of those they spoke to could have led to a rescue needed - such as not swimming between the flags, not knowing where a nearby rip is, swimming alone or swimming too close to rocks.
And that wasn't even a particularly busy day, Gibson said.
"We administer between four to seven major first aid responses a day before St Johns arrives," he said.
"It's not just between the flags, a lot of the work is occurring out of the flags."
Over seven-and-a-half thousand people were recorded at Northern Beaches on Monday, over 2,000 of whom the lifeguards engaged with to ensure swimmers are aware of the conditions.
"It's proved to be a bit of a challenge, we are a volunteer organisation," Gibson said.
"We're recognising that all the public donations are making the difference."
Gibson said the number of significant injuries on the beach were down from last year, although lifeguards were seeing more abrasions and cuts than normal.
