When the skipper of a small boat decided to leave his two guests onboard while he went scuba-diving, his decision resulted in an air-sea search and rescue – because he had been the only one of the three who knew how to drive the vessel.
The incident occurred off Wellington in New Zealand on 5 March, as winds were reported to be blowing up to 90kmph accompanied by waves as high as 2m.
The two men who had been left on the 5.4m boat, which was described as a runabout, reported that they were being blown out to sea when they made an emergency call to the police for assistance at around 4pm. The skipper, who owned the boat, was still in the water, they said.
Police Maritime Unit rescue vessels and the Life Flight Westpac rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene, with Wellington Volunteer Coastguard providing support during the operation. A police launch located the runabout at around 4.30pm.
Rough conditions
The police used their inflatable tender to put a crew-member onto the boat, an operation they described as “challenging in the rough conditions but necessary in the circumstances”. Constable Stephanie Cox took control of the runabout and drove it back to Owhiro Bay on Wellington’s south coast.
It was another hour before the rescue helicopter crew were able to locate the missing diver – when they spotted him waving from a remote shore. He had surfaced after his dive, realised that the boat had gone and managed to swim to the coast.
The skipper was flown back to the Life Flight base at Wellington Airport. He and the other two men were given medical examinations and all appeared to be in stable condition, though they were described by the police as shaken.
Quick response
“The quick response and co-ordination between our teams allowed us to reach these individuals before the situation escalated further,” said a Coastguard spokesperson. The authorities are investigating the details of the incident, according to the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
“These two men can consider themselves lucky,” commented police senior launch master Constable Nicko McGregor. “These difficult weather conditions were no place for a small runabout to be.
“This is a reminder of how quickly situations at sea can change. Good preparation and formal training make a real difference when things don’t go to plan on the water.”
He urged boaters to check the weather, carry proper safety equipment, to have at least two forms of communication in waterproof cases and to ensure that everybody understood basic emergency procedures.
Also on Divernet: Better Boat Diving: Essential Tips for Safer, Smarter Dive Trips
