Karaka couple Max and Rochelle Bringans had a new asset to park in the driveway of their recently purchased home in Whangarei, a Ford Ranger Sport/Extreme 745 Game King trailer boat package.

The couple purchased a $100 ticket in support of the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust (ARHT) service’s fundraiser, their number drawn as the winners of the $300,000 Extreme 745 Game King/2022 Ford Ranger Sport package.

Max described their win as “absolutely insane.”

“I was filtering through our emails and came across a notification that we had won the prize, but was not totally convinced until speaking with the organisers and releasing it was not a scam,” Max joked.

The Bringans have a close association with the sea. Max, a marine engineer, works on the deep sea fleet based in Timaru, while Rochelle comes from a family of commercial fishers who once lived on Great Barrier Island.

The couple intends to keep the prize and have already made plans to put it to good use with family and friends over the holiday period in Northland.

“I had an older boat which we haven’t used for some time as the motor proved unreliable, so our win was perfect timing,” says Max. They will stick with the appropriate name already on the Extreme’s side – Fun Raiser.

“Because of the industry I am in, I have seen first-hand the work of the rescue helicopter service when it has been necessary to airlift injured or sick crewmen off the trawlers. They do fantastic work and deserve this sort of support, which saw the 10,000 tickets sold out.”

All the money raised goes directly to the ARHT. This lottery will fund 185 missions this summer. Last year the ARHT was tasked with 1,239 missions, a third of which were accidents, and 75 were marine-related. ARHT expect 2023 to be the tenth consecutive year where they attend over 1,000 callouts.

Fun Raiser is ready to fish and cruise. Powered by a Yamaha 250HP outboard, it comes complete with a Garmin chartplotter/sounder, a fridge and an electric toilet, all riding on a Voyager tandem trailer. Shimano has added a couple of fishing combos to round out the boat prize, which the latest Ford Ranger Sports double-cab utility will tow the rig. These top-selling utilities have a 10-speed gearbox, 4WD capability and a 3.0 litre V6 turbo diesel – plenty of grunt to haul the Extreme 745 Game King, given its tow rating of up to 3,500kg.

Yamaha added a 12-month insurance package to round out the magnificent prize.