A couple of boaters were saved by a jet-skier who swooped in to save the day after their boat capsized. Coastguard New Zealand sends out big thanks to the unknown rider. The morning of December 27th, 2021, the Bar Crossing Alarm sounded in the Coastguard Operations Center. A boat was overdue on the Raglan bar. All stations were called by Coastguard Radio to go and track down those onboard.
The NZ Coastguard was underway when they received word that a call came in about a vessel upside down on the Harbor Bar and three people were in the water. Raglan Volunteer Coastguard and the local Surf Lifesaving Club worked in tandem to rescue the third person in the water. The mystery jet skier had taken the other two to shore, while the Lifesaving Club pulled the third person out of the water and took them to safety.
The boaters were okay and in good spirits, though feeling dehydrated. Everyone was wearing lifejackets and they had logged a bar crossing report so the Coastguard would know there whereabouts if things went awry. They did everything right and survived to tell the story.
The NZ Coastguard is looking for the person on the yellow jet ski who rescued two of the boaters. They have a Good Boatie Award for the unknown PWC rider. He not only discovered the boaters in the water; he also alerted rescuers by setting off his own PLB. The vessel is currently anchored and will be retrieved when the water conditions clean up. We liked this story because of the safety aspect. Everyone involved was prepared and the rescue was smooth. We like a happy ending.
