Five water rescues on windy weekend

The Nelson Surf Life Saving Club are warning the public to always check conditions before heading out on the water after they attended several incidents over the weekend.

The club’s Search and Rescue team had an “intense and emotional” weekend as they were called out to several separate rescue incidents in strong and unpredictable winds on Saturday and Sunday.

In a post to social media, the surf club detailed a number of rescues, including one where a kite surfer had been swept a long way offshore.

“He was completely exhausted by the time our crew reached him and incredibly relieved,” the post said.

Another callout saw the team rescue a couple and their dog who had been stranded on their yacht after their mast broke and they got swept away in the wind.

While they were on their way back to base after dropping the couple and their dog off, they received another call to a surf ski that had capsized with the owner unable to get back in.

However, what really stuck with the team was an incident where they helped a family of four, which included two pre-school aged children, get back to shore.

The team were near Boulder Bank doing an inter-agency training exercise with the Nelson Rescue Helicopter when they spotted the family’s small boat in “serious difficulty”.

Despite the family wearing life jackets, their boat was being “swamped by waves and taking on water”.

“The children were soaked, shaking and already showing signs of hypothermia.”

The crew moved quickly and escorted the family back through The Cut to shore.

“Seeing those two tiny children wrapped in warm blankets in the arms of our volunteers was a powerful reminder of why we do this. This situation could have ended very differently.”

President of Nelson Surf Life Saving Club Noah Hosie said the majority of recent incidents have occurred because of fast-changing weather conditions.

“People are heading out on their normal summer fishing [trips] and the winds have been changing so fast these days, that’s what majority of the issues are,” he said.

Hosie said the best thing people can do to combat this was to know the weather report for the days when you’re looking at heading out.

This included checking wind, currents and temperature predictions, and following the age old advice, if in doubt, don’t go out.

Over the weekend they dealt with some “beautiful mornings” that had some strong southerlies come up “real fast”.

Hosie said if you do find yourself stuck out at sea make sure you’ve always got the right equipment on you, including warm clothes, life jackets, and an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).

He praised the work of the Search and Rescue team, which was comprised of 15 volunteers, and added that he was “super proud” of the work they did.

“All good results, that’s all we can ask for.”

By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail