Five people were rescued last night after they experienced serious problems crossing the Motunau bar inbound – about an hour north of Kaiapoi in North Canterbury.
At approximately 5pm, an individual near Motunau beach spotted the vessel in difficulty and alerted Police. Around 8pm, a faint ‘mayday’ distress call was heard on VHF channel 63. The individuals onboard also used a mobile phone while the battery lasted, as well as a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) to call for help.
During the bar crossing, the vessel was hit by a large wave, swamping it with water, and throwing its fuel tanks overboard. The vessel managed to turn around and anchor approximately 400m offshore in rocky conditions between Motunau Island and Motunau bar, where it continued to be hit by sets of 3-metre waves, resulting in an individual being thrown overboard. Others onboard the vessel were able to recover the individual and thankfully get them back onboard safely.
At approximately 8:45pm, five volunteers from Coastguard North Canterbury onboard ‘Kaiapoi rescue’ vessel were out on the water, navigating their way through the dark, rocky conditions, ensuring kelp wasn’t being ingested into their engine. Arriving on scene shortly afterwards, they were able to account for all five individuals. They brought them into the Coastguard rescue vessel’s cabin and started to warm them up with blankets and heat pads, to help slowly bring their body temperatures back up.
Unit President, Kevin Bryce said: “Although this was a harrowing and concerning incident for the boaties involved, they were prepared with all of the right communications gear, and they were wearing lifejackets. The boaties couldn’t believe we were able to get there and rescue them in such poor conditions”.
“It was a challenging, multi-agency operation,” said Kevin. “We have a standard operating procedure in place for bar crossings at night, which involves marking our position with a flare. Due to proximity with Christchurch International Airport, this has to be coordinated very carefully.”
“I’d like to thank the whole team back at our unit and our crew that went out for their professionalism and the way the operation was conducted. I’d also like to acknowledge all of the agencies we worked with to rescue these boaties, including Maritime New Zealand radio, Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, SAR Police, local Police, Hato Hone St John, and Christchurch International Airport. All these agencies worked together to make this operation seamless. We also work with members of the local community during these situations, who help us understand the conditions out there.”
The group of five were safely brought back to shore by volunteers, where two Hato Hone St John ambulances were waiting to treat them. One individual was taken to hospital with injuries sustained during the bar crossing attempt, and three others were treated for hypothermia.
🚤 If you’re a boatie planning to cross a bar, please remember to log a bar crossing trip report using your VHF or by calling *500 – it could save your life. If a crossing report isn’t closed within 15-30 minutes (depending on the bar), and we can’t get hold of you, a search operation will be initiated. And remember, always wear a lifejacket.
