Last night, Coastguard volunteers onboard Circa Rescue from Coastguard Whangārei successfully executed a night-time rescue operation in response to a distress call from an overdue vessel. We are pleased to share the following details of this successful mission:

  1. Time of Request: At 10:04 pm on September 5th, the New Zealand Police contacted Coastguard’s Operations Centre for assistance in locating an overdue vessel. The vessel had departed from Tamaterau in the Whangārei Harbour earlier that afternoon and was expected to return before nightfall.
  2. Vessel Description: The vessel in question was an inflatable boat with a small motor with one person onboard. It was noted that there was no emergency equipment onboard.
  3. Rescue Operation: Coastguard Whangārei rescue vessel "Circa Rescue" was activated promptly, departing at 10:30 pm, with six dedicated volunteer crew members on board. They conducted an extensive search of the Whangārei Harbour, responding to the urgency of the situation. With no success, Coastguard expanded or re-focused its search area.
  4. Contact with the Individual: At approximately 11:15 pm, Coastguard was advised that the family had received a text message from the individual in distress, indicating that he was stuck on an island and had seen the Coastguard vessel nearby. At 11:20pm, Coastguard’s Communications Centre sent a message to the individual advising him there was a Coastguard Rescue Vessel on route to him.
  5. Successful Rescue: Circa Rescue located the missing boatie on Limestone Island at 11:52pm with Coastguard volunteers safely recovering him from shore and transporting him to Onerahi.

We kindly request that all further enquiries related to this incident be directed to the local Police, as they are the primary contact point for this search and rescue operation.

Coastguard is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our communities when they venture out on the water. We are proud of our dedicated Coastguard Whangārei volunteer crew who worked tirelessly to bring this incident to a successful conclusion.

ENDS