Tauranga Coastguard visits boat expo

The Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard and one of their boats were at the city’s boat expo over the weekend.

The group were out trying to recruit  members and informing passers-by about the different training courses available.

Boat crew member Elisa Caswell, who joined as a way of giving back to the community,  said one of the most important things was for people to know how to best communicate when out on the water.

“At least if they get into trouble they can make it easier for us to rescue them.”

Tauranga Coastguard has two rescue vessels, which can be used for any type of search and rescue effort, including towing in broken down boats, rescuing people who have capsized, or those who are stranded.

They also have use of an aircraft which can aid in reducing search time.

Operations Manager Simon Barker said there are people from all different backgrounds.

“It brings a whole lot of contacts and experience [together], some of our people are retired. It is giving back to something you enjoy.”

Most of their call outs happen during the weekend.

Barker said they always assume they will have a quiet weekend but that it does not always turn out that way.

Boat crew member Matthew Hayes said his dad came to the boat show a couple of years ago and met Simon, who said they were looking for more volunteers.

“I just thought I like boats and I like helping people out and it’s good fun and good experience.”

More information about the training courses can be found here.