Whakatāne boat rescue: Aaron Standen acts fast to save two men after boat flips in big swells

A Whakatāne man’s obsession with boating and fishing turned out to be a life-saving factor for two men whose boat foundered just outside the Whakatāne bar.

Real estate agent Aaron Standen had been out fishing last Saturday and returned to the Heads with family and friends from Whanganui as dusk fell.

They were sitting enjoying fish and chips when they noticed a little red boat just coming in – “it was near low tide and really heavy swells”.

Standen saw another boat approaching the bar a couple of minutes later.

“At times it disappeared between the swells, and it looked dodgy,” he said.

“It was on the swell sideways – and then it flipped over.”

The small red boat returns to shore with the rescued men on board. Photo / Damian Rahman

He dialled 111 and described what had happened to the police, although there was a moment when he “put the puzzle pieces together in my head.

“Without telling my family, I ran to my truck and drove to the wharf.”

The little red boat had just landed, and Standen urgently explained to the skipper that his boat needed to head back out.

“He told me to take the boat, but I told him he needed to come with me.

“His mate stayed behind with the fishing gear, which they had just put ashore.’”

Heading out through the dinghy channel, the rescuers could see three lines of white water further out and they found the stricken boat had drifted.

However, when they arrived at the boat, they saw no one.

“There was no one there – that scared me,” Standen said.

“There were lots of people watching from the shore... and we were low on gas.”

They motored around trying to find the people who had been on board, and on returning to the stricken vessel a second time, spotted two people next to it.

“I called out, asking how many had been in the boat and it was only the two of them,” Standen said.

“They had been thrown about, were stuck inside the cabin and could not find their way out.”

Standen said the two men were wearing inflatable life vests, which were not inflated.

The rescuers pulled the two men on board, one at a time, and set a course for port.

Aaron Standen said there was a moment when all the puzzle pieces came together in his head. Photo / Troy Baker

“When we came back to the boat ramp, ambulances and the police where there,” Standen said.

“They took the two guys to hospital.”

When Standen returned to his family and his fish and chips by the picnic tables, his fish “was still warm”.

His wife said it wasn’t until she saw him racing out to sea in the little red boat that she understood why he had run off.

The owner of the stricken boat, who did not want to be named, said his adult son and his mate had borrowed the boat to go fishing.

“My son has been out in the boat many times and I was comfortable with him borrowing it,” he said.

“He said it was a very scary moment – he was being very cautious and got whacked by a wave.

The two men were thrown into the cabin together and then flung upside down before they found an air pocket.

“He found a rope floating around, tied it to his mate’s arm, and told him to hold on to it,” the man said.

“He then swam through the boat and back up – and pulled his mate out.

“Quite frankly, in my mind, he’s a bit of a hero on that one.”

The two men were taken to Whakatāne Hospital and discharged the same night.

“They came out of this with scrapes and bruises – and lasting memories.”

The boat’s owner said he appreciated the actions of Standen.

“I have called him and thanked him,” he said.

Whakatāne Coastguard president Jim Williamson was also appreciative of Standen’s actions.

“He did a bloody brilliant job,” he said.

“If he hadn’t taken the initiative, they might not be with us.”

Ōhope resident Damian Rahman was taking photos of the sunset when he spotted a crowd of people looking out to sea.

“There were some police on the scene too,” he said.

“Apparently a boat had capsized and when I arrived this rescue vessel was quickly heading out to assist in some very rough waters.”

Rahman said the rescuers were able to get the people on board and quickly returned them to shore.

“People were cheering on as they got back – it was lucky they were willing and able to assist so quickly – it was actually very impressive to see.”