Waikato drownings and boat rescues dampen summer holiday mood

Harbourmaster Chris Bredenbeck says, he has nine vessels out this season and since boxing day stopped 700 boats for regular safety inspections. Photo / Supplied

With summer at its peak and boaties out in record numbers, the Waikato Regional Harbourmaster is urging more caution by skippers after a series of serious water incidents that have dampened the holiday mood.

The incidents included several risky bar crossings with boats overturned and people tipped into the waves. Chief Harbourmaster Chris Bredenbeck says it has been a matter of luck that so far there have been no deaths.

Summer is far from being over, Bredenbeck says his estimate is that boaties out and about on both Waikato coasts and other waterways are at an all-time high.
There have been five bar-crossing incidents since Boxing Day, he says.

"It is very very busy, certainly also thanks to the exceptionally hot weather. But in the last few days a swell on the [Waikato] east coast caused a bit of trouble."
He says three vessels needed rescuing in Matarangi in the Coromandel on Tuesday.

"One vessel had a breakdown on the bar and anchored outside when a second came to the rescue. They took everyone on board and tried to tow the first vessel over the bar when their boat got swamped by a wave and the first vessel sank."

The six people involved in this incident were rescued by locals on jetskis. A third vessel in Matarangi avoided trouble caused by an engine failure on the bar by anchoring. The regional council maritime officers were able to pick up the anchor and tow the vessel back to the harbour without further complications.

Bredenbeck says the incident involving the two vessels was a scary scenario that could have been avoided.

"It was disappointing decision-making, the weather report showed poor conditions. I'm a boatie myself, I have seen the report and there is no way I would have chosen to go out [on Tuesday].

"I imagine people were on the last day of their holiday and wanted to have one last day of fishing. But the risk is just not worth it."

Weather, current and tide conditions cause waves to break in an unpredictable pattern on bars, creating an unstable and dangerous environment.

The other incidents happened on December 28 in Raglan, where three people ended up in the water while crossing the local bar and needing rescue; and on January 3 in Tairua, where two people needed rescuing after being thrown into the water as their boat tipped while crossing the bar.

On Wednesday afternoon, a boy and a girl were flown by rescue helicopter to Starship Hospital in critical condition after a boat with five people on board flipped on Tairua Bar near Pauanui. A woman in her thrities with minor injuries was flown to Auckland Hospital and a man in his sixties was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition. The man was resusciated twice at the scene with the help of Surf Life Saving, St John and an intensive care paramedic.

Bredenbeck says his message is to check the weather report, look for local information and "if in doubt, don't go out".

"We really want people to take all the precautions that they can."
The best time to cross a bar is within three hours before high tide. As a general rule, coming back up to three hours before and one hour after high tide is the best. All other times should be avoided, and a bar should never be crossed at low tide or at night.

Waikato Regional Harbourmaster Chris Bredenbeck. Photo / Supplied

This season, the harbourmaster and his team have nine vessels out and since Boxing Day they have stopped 700 boats for safety inspections.
"About 90 per cent of them were wearing lifejackets and 95 per cent of the vessels carried lifejackets. Another positive thing is that we have not seen any kids without a lifejacket," Bredenbeck says.

He and his team also handed out 100 infringement notices, predominantly for having no lifejackets and for speeding.

Meanwhile, 28 people have drowned in the whole of New Zealand since the beginning of December - more than the total for all of last summer. Water Safety NZ says it is the country's worst summer since 2015.

Chief executive Daniel Gerrard said the level of drowning was "unprecedented" and "cuts through every age range, water activity and ethnicity".

"I'm at a loss on what to say," he told the NZHerald. "I'm just horrified at the level of drownings. It's just an absolute shocker."

On Tuesday, Police confirmed the death of a 28-year-old man who died while swimming in the Waingaro River, west of Ngāruawāhia.

Also on Tuesday, the harbourmaster and his team sent a boat to assist the Police National Dive Squad searching the Waikato river for a man who disappeared while swimming with four others near Hamilton Gardens the day prior.

While formal identification is yet to be completed, police believe a body they found in the river on Wednesday evening isthat of the missing man.

On Christmas Day, the body of a missing fisherman was discovered south of Kennedy Bay in the Coromandel by a Coastguard fixed-wing plane. The man in his 50s from Auckland was reported missing after he left in his boat from the Whangapoua boat ramp and failed to return.

Gerrard said: "While we want everyone to enjoy the summer break, there have been five preventable drowning deaths on average over the past five summer holiday periods ... It is all about being prepared. We need to know what our own limits are. Be prepared, know the risks and your limits, and watch out for yourself and others."