The Coastguard is urging caution after a string of serious bar crossing incidents along the west coast of the North Island in the last month.
An incident at Port Waikato after a vessel overturned resulted in the tragic death of one man while two others were hospitalised. All were wearing lifejackets.
In Raglan four boaties were rescued after issuing a Mayday call from a sinking vessel. Thanks to their logged bar crossing report, lifejackets, and activated personal locator beacon (PLB), a swift rescue was possible.
And a vessel with two people on board capsized on the Kawhia bar a couple of weeks ago. Several nearby vessels responded and retrieved both individuals. No bar crossing report had been made, and it was unclear whether lifejackets were worn.
While preventable drownings fell to 72 in 2024 (down from 90 in 2023), fatalities involving powered craft rose to 18 – 25% of all cases – many in tidal waters or during bar crossings. Over half occurred close to shore, including five bar capsize incidents.
And if you’re wondering what the emergency call out on the weekend was for, a child was flown to hospital with serious injuries on Saturday after being trapped under a log at Raglan.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they were notified of an incident at 3.44pm, responding with an ambulance, Prime vehicle and one helicopter to the scene.
The St John spokesperson said crews assessed and treated one patient at the scene.
Raglan man Jordan Forlong, 27, has been featured in the Waikato Times recently as he’s built a fast-growing forestry planting business in Australia, employing 40 staff.
Jordan is the managing director of Pinnacle Silviculture, which he co-founded in 2021 after spending seasons planting trees in Canada. What began with 10 workers quickly expanded to 20, then 30, before stabilising at a 40-person crew with around 25 coming from New Zealand. Workers average $3,000 a week, following a three-days-on, one-day-off roster that Forlong says keeps productivity and morale high.
The article said that when he’s not in Australia, Forlong is back in Raglan surfing, and fishing and that he hopes to open a similar operation in New Zealand one day.