Seminars to raise awareness around bar crossings

As Safer Boating Week draws to a close, the Coastguard is raising awareness around bar crossings.

Simon Marshall is the Coastguard bar safety project lead and a volunteer on the Manukau Harbour who has seen the aftermath of many bad bar crossings.

“The Manukau Harbour is the number one drowning black spot in the whole country; it’s the most dangerous patch of water. Being close to Auckland means it is frequented a bit more, and it definitely doesn’t have the same facilities and access as the Hauraki Gulf.

“You have all that harbour going through that narrow point, but you also have all these channels up and down the harbour, such strong moving currents that when something goes wrong, it goes wrong really fast.”

Marshall has three crucial tips to remember before and during your time on the water.

“Check the weather before you go, wear a life jacket, and call Coastguard on the radio before you cross the bar. We’ve got a really good network; people call in before crossing the bar, then give us a call at the other end.

“If you don’t call us back, we take that really seriously and assume you are holding onto your boat upside down and we get the search and rescue [operation] under way.”

Held from October 20 to 26, Safer Boating Week also included three free seminars across Auckland, including an in-person seminar in Papakura (Manukau Bar) on Thursday, October 23 and Tairua (Tairua Bar) on Sunday, October 26.

Coastguard senior communications advisor Ben Parsons said more seminars will follow in the week after Labour Weekend.

“In partnership with the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, we’re visiting over 30 boating communities across Aotearoa, delivering free seminars to help boaties build the skills, local knowledge, and confidence needed to make safe decisions when crossing a bar.”

The Coastguard says that while preventable drownings fell to 72 in 2024 (down from 90 in 2023), fatalities involving powered craft rose to 18-21per cent of all cases – many in tidal waters or during bar crossings. Over half occurred close to shore, including five bar capsize incidents.

• Days after Marshall spoke to the Franklin Times, one person died in a water rescue near Port Waikato. Three people were taken to hospital after a boat capsized north of Sunset Beach, Port Waikato, at around 7.15am on October 18. Police said one person later died in hospital that same day.