Kayakers warned to assess risks
22nd March 2010

Northland police are urging people to use common sense while out on the sea after a kayaker overestimated his paddle power and rang for help after tiring partway through his offshore journey.

Northland search-and-rescue team member Constable Sue Grocott said a man rang police about 1.40pm on Friday by dialling 111 from his cellphone while drifting at sea.

That sparked a search-and-rescue mission involving Whangarei Coastguard and a Northland Emergency Services Trust rescue helicopter.

Ms Grocott said the 31-year-old kayaker had left Leigh about 9am that day and had planned to make the return paddle to the Hen and Chicken Islands the same day - a good 50km round trip.

However, off the coast of Mangawhai, and still on his way to the islands, the kayaker rang 111 to say he was tired and needed rescuing, she said.

He was uncertain as to where he was and was too far out to sea to paddle to shore, Ms Grocott said.

About 20 minutes after raising the alarm, she said the man contacted police again and questioned where they were as he was starting to become concerned.

Ms Grocott said the man was wearing a lifejacket and had a cellphone, but was ill-prepared for what was believed to be his first major open ocean paddle.

"He was a little fish in a big pond," she said. "This could easily have been a tragedy."

Given that the man had no idea where he was and that he was in a blue-coloured four-metre kayak, it made it difficult for emergency services to locate him.

"Once we had the coastguard in the right area we found him quickly," she said.

A NEST helicopter had been sent, but the man was found before it could start searching.

The man was found about 4.30pm by the Whangarei Coastguard and taken to Marsden Cove Marina where he arranged his trip home by road.

Ms Grocott said people needed to be realistic about what they were undertaking out on the water.

"They need to be prepared. Going out in the kayak in the ocean like that was reckless," she said.

If paddlers were considering such long distances they should have flares and a GPS that would enable rescuers to get to them quickly. A support boat should also be considered.

She warned there was too much reliance placed on cellphones, which could get wet or have no coverage at sea, which was why flares were needed.

 Ms Grocott said paddlers should also stick close to the coast so that if something did go wrong they had the option of trying to make it to shore.

"There have already been a number of drownings in Northland this summer. We don't want any more."

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If it was 4m, that suggests it was a SOT rather than a Sea Kayak...

Nah, wouldn't have been any of us - no mention of any fish caught.

And the unit of the year award gos to

Hairy Little Dwarf wrote: Just to put this in perspective for people who don't know the area. This trip is equivalent of paddling RETURN from: Whangaparoa to Great Barrier Island Takapuna to Coromandel Mt. Maunganui to Whangamata ...Or Whakatane to White Island I was planning on doing a charity fundraiser at one stage (might still do it) of a "100k in a Day" paddle. Now, I'm fairly fit but was still looking at a 12 - 14 hour day...

Sounds like he was 2 kumaras short of a hangi !

Also, what was the "blue coloured 4-meter kayak"? Sit-in or sit-on? Sounds like he launched, pointed a finger, and said I'm going there! Excellent trip planning - NOT!

screw trying to paddle that distance in a plastic shoe - no wonder he got tired.

Someone should really find out who it was, print the thread off and make him read it.

No wonder this country is going tits up with winners like this breeding. 

Blue kayak eh? Wonder if it's the guy who was in a blue over white sit-in kayak I hooked up while fishing at Omaha a few weeks back... that guy was a plonker too!

 Holy s%^t I just looked at my maps the Hen & Chicks its frikken miles from Leigh.

Forgot to mention - all safety equipment, food, and water must be accessable without opening a hatch into the inside of the kayak. The reason is obvious.