Cousins Michael and Maruwhare Magner managed to hook two 10kg tuna while out for a fish on Wednesday. Photo / Bevan Conley
Cousins Michael and Maruwhare Magner managed to hook two 10kg tuna while out for a fish on Wednesday. Photo / Bevan Conley
It's been a busy three days for Whanganui's Coastguard, as hundreds of local and out-of-town boaties spend their days travelling and fishing the South Taranaki Bight.
More than 700 people took to the seas from Whanganui's main boat ramp on Monday, in what was the busiest day on record forthe city's coastline.
Aided by 28C heat and clear skies, keen fishers launched a total of 170 boats, with vehicles and trailers lined up even along Heads Rd, as space near the Wharf St boat ramp quickly became scarce.
Five Coastguard volunteers manned the radios at their office by the boat ramp, ensuring exact numbers of those on the water were recorded, as well as details of each vessel.
One Coastguard radio operator said the day broke the record for the most boats on the water at once - putting the radio team under pressure.
"It's been a very busy few days - Monday was the busiest we've ever seen it," the operator said.
"We were constantly responding to calls throughout the day - there were just so many people wanting to go out."
Coastguard Whanganui's team of volunteers have been busy manning the radios over recent days, as the number of boats launching from the Wharf St boat ramp shot up. Photo / Bevan Conley
For comparison, while 170 boats took to the water on Monday, that dropped to 80 on Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, just 38 boats were out on a nice summer's day.
