Surfer saved by Coastguard off Whanganui coast after 3 hours adrift

Whanganui's Energy Direct Coastguard fights its way out to sea to rescue a surfer at Kai Iwi Beach. Photo / Lynne Douglas

A surfer spent three hours drifting out to sea off Whanganui on Saturday, and was in a distressed state when finally rescued.

He was cold and tired when Coastguard Wanganui executed a "textbook" rescue off Kai Iwi Beach.

The man was lucky to be alive, his rescuers said.

"Who knows what would have happened if he had been there another hour — he had a wetsuit on, but he was quite cold and starting to cramp up," Coastguard president Garry Hawkins told the Chronicle.

The man went into the water from Kai Iwi to surf about 11.30am on Saturday. As time passed, friends or family on the beach became worried and phoned police at 1pm.

Fortunately, the tide was high enough to get the Coastguard boat into the water at the Wharf St slipway.

"If it had been low water, we would have had to go to Putiki and that would have been another three-quarters of an hour," Mr Hawkins said.

The boat had to battle its way out through the Whanganui River moles, facing a strong wind and extremely rough seas.

"We took a few waves over the top of the boat."

The rescue was co-ordinated by police, who could see the surfer from the Mowhanau clifftop through binoculars.

Coastguard got to him about 2.30pm, when he had been in the water three hours.
He was on his board and about 800m offshore, drifting out and slightly southward with the wind and current.

"He just couldn't get enough strength to get back to shore," Mr Hawkins said.

The surfer — known as Grant, and in his early 40s — was taken to Wharf St for a warm shower before his friends collected him.

"He's a very lucky lad ... it was a textbook rescue, well co-ordinated by the police," Mr Hawkins said.