Craig Lyons is Coastguard Turangi vice-president, unit safety officer, maintenance guy, rescue vessel skipper, on the committee and helps with training. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Craig Lyons is Coastguard Turangi vice-president, unit safety officer, maintenance guy, rescue vessel skipper, on the committee and helps with training. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Craig Lyons is a Coastguard Tūrangi skipper and volunteer.
But he's not just a skipper. He's also vice-president, unit safety officer, maintenance guy, on the committee and helps with training.
It is, he admits, all a bit much for a man who is also flat out running his own business, Tūrangi Marine. Being a business owner and a committed volunteer is becoming harder and harder.
Craig says on just about all levels of Coastguard Tūrangi, from the board and committee to crew, many hands make light work, and it's those many hands the unit is currently lacking.
So Coastguard Tūrangi is putting out an open call to its community for help - whether it's an onshore role or as crew member on its rescue vessel Mauri Ora. The more people who step up, the lighter the load is for all.
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"We do need more people to help. We need members young and old across the board. Every level of the Tūrangi unit is needing help," Craig says.
"We're trying to spread the workload and with so many people boating at this end of the lake there must be so many people with skills and assets that would love to help us out. For me, if someone took health and safety off me, that would be huge."
Craig puts two to three hours a week into Coastguard and says it's trying to fit that on top of running a business that brings the pressure, which is a shame because he enjoys his Coastguard involvement. He first became a volunteer in 1995.
"A good friend invited me down and just basically wanted some help," Craig recalls. "I was 22. I went away [from Tūrangi] for a short while and came back but I've been with the unit for that amount of time."
Coastguard Tūrangi vice-president Craig Lyons, left, and president Maurice Heappey with the unit's vessel Mauri Ora Rescue. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Craig started his Coastguard training by doing the day skipper course, then boat master and then got his Coastguard skipper's ticket. Everyone who joins has the opportunity to learn skills, do training and gain qualifications, all paid for by Coastguard.
However if you're not a boatie or don't want to do the qualifications, you don't have to. Craig says you don't need to be especially nautically-minded to be in Coastguard. All that's needed is the desire to help your community.
"We've got committee members, good people in our community that don't even go boating. They're community-minded people supporting a good cause.
"It's behind the scenes stuff that makes it so much easier for people like myself to just concentrate on being able to be available to be a skipper, it's just a time thing."
Ultimately, Craig got into Coastguard out of a desire to help other people, and it's that which keeps him involved.
Coastguard Tūrangi's vessel Mauri Ora Rescue at its launch in 2013. Photo / File
"Being able to help someone out that's in trouble, because it may happen to a friend of a family member of my own.
"I'm sure most people want to help people out. It's a community-based thing. I was born and raised in Tūrangi so it's being able to help out in some way."
Sunny Peeters, the Coastguard eastern region manager, says while larger towns have a bigger pool of volunteers to draw on, it can be a challenge recruiting enough of them in smaller centres such as Tūrangi.
He says while Tūrangi has a core of competent and committed volunteers, more are needed to spread the load so that it doesn't fall on just a few people.
"There's a role for everyone.
"We need new blood in the team so that we can take the pressure off people that are always doing the work, people like [president] Maurice Heappey, Allan Turia, Craig Lyons. These people are absolute monsters in our community but people just don't see it and if people saw what they did they would appreciate it and would maybe be motivated to help."
So far this year Coastguard Tūrangi has had eight callouts, less than one per month. Most of the time is spent practising, training and getting equipment ready and when the load is divided, it can be sociable and fun.
There are also onshore roles in administration, health and safety, governance, training and other areas.
"There are jobs for everyone with Coastguard."
Coastguard Tūrangi currently has 10 crew and five board members. Its health and safety and administration (secretary and treasurer) roles are presently vacant. Sunny says he'd love to recruit half a dozen more crew and three new board members.
Sunny says given Coastguard Tūrangi's small size, it outperforms itself all the time and the impact it has on the local community is huge.
Allan Turia of Coastguard Turangi with his Coastguard New Zealand award for Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year. Photo / File
"These guys are doing a great job. We've got no concerns with the professional service they provide to the public and the community - they are doing well and winning national awards. What my concern is, that load sits squarely on the shoulders of just a few people which leads to fatigue and concerns for the continuity of service for the community.
"We want to encourage people to come and take a load and make it lighter for everybody."
To become a Coastguard volunteer, either as a crew member or on the board, contact Maurice Heappey on 027 277 1674 or Craig on 07 386 8474.
