Coastguard Whanganui tows five boats back to back on near record day

Coastguard Whanganui is an "emergency backstop" for boaties, lead radio operator Paul Ellen says.

Coastguard Whanganui is reminding boaties to check essentials on their vessels after a near record day on the water.

The organisation took 120 trip reports and towed five boats back-to-back on Monday.

Lead radio operator Paul Ellen said another 12 boats logged movements via an app, and the line of boats and trailers ran from the Wharf St boat ramp up Heads Rd.

The first launched at 4.20am, with radio operators working a 14-hour shift and the boat crew on the water for six hours.

“Then there is always a small percentage that doesn’t log anything and just goes fishing,” Ellen said.

“Multiple hundreds of people were out there under our watch.”

Having that number of towing jobs in a day was “a bit unusual”.

“If your boat’s been in the shed over winter, you need to check it.

“Stale fuel is a classic example. Funnily enough, petrol doesn’t keep; it goes off.

“You need to see if the battery is in a good state of charge, and make sure you’ve got life jackets and more than one waterproof form of communication.”

Ellen said, anecdotally, Coastguard had an increase in callouts after mechanical and equipment issues early in the season, with another uptick towards the end.

“People start getting a bit casual and blasé about these things and forget to check them.

“At the end of the day, we are your emergency backstop.

“Make sure your comms are working – a VHF [very high frequency] radio and a cellphone in a waterproof container, with a battery that’s not going flat.”

Coastguard Whanganui president Steve Turfrey said one call on Monday was “fairly critical”.

“It required us releasing a boat that was already under tow and making it safe, while we leapt off to their rescue.

“This was a pretty distressed boatload of people, and this was a boat that did not have the basics.”

Coastguard Whanganui's old boat has been rehomed at Coastguard South Taranaki. Photo / NZME

He said Coastguard was made up of volunteers who wanted to help, but people also had to help themselves.

Ellen said a “nice new boat” was delivered to Coastguard Whanganui in November, with the old one rehomed at Coastguard South Taranaki.

“It was a major project and locally built by Wanganui Boating Centre, with more capacity for fuel and crew space.

“One of its first outings was a trip to Nelson for a combined [search and rescue] exercise that the Coastguard run every year.”

As a volunteer organisation, Coastguard Whanganui was actively recruiting new radio operators, he said.

There was a core team of seven, with 40-year veteran Rex Luff retiring at the end of 2025.

“It’s a particular skillset, and it’s not just talking on the radio.

“Effectively, you are the lifeline, communications and first responder for boaties. There is a level of operational intensity and responsibility.”

He said the record number of boats in a day at Whanganui was about 150, and 1129 were registered.

“They are not all from Whanganui. When you join Coastguard NZ, you designate a home unit – where you’re mostly going to.”

Coastguard membership cost $150 a year for an individual but it was worth it, Ellen said.

“If you break down and we come and get you and tow you home, you won’t get a bill. It’s like AA [Automobile Association] membership.

“If you’re not a member, of course, we will come and tow you home. We never say no but you will get a bill.”

Speaking to the Chronicle last month, Turfrey said crossing a bar within two hours before or after low tide should be avoided.

“If there are any changes that are uncomfortable out there, it’s probably a sign that it’s time to come home earlier rather than later,” he said.

Coastguard Whanganui’s VHF radio channel is 64.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.