A pair of boaties who fell overboard escaped unharmed after their rogue boat ran doughnuts around them in Auckland's North Head.
Auckland City District Police's maritime unit issued a warning today to those on the water following the recent dangerous incident.
The two boaties neglected to attach themselves to the switch, which is used to stop the engine of a boat in the event of the person operating it being thrown out to sea or falling off the boat. The pair then hit a swell and were both thrown overboard.
"Luckily they weren’t hurt, but because they hadn’t attached themselves to the switch, the boat took off at full throttle in a tight circle," police said in a statement on Facebook.
The young men were rescued by a passing boat, but their boat continued doing doughnuts for over half an hour until floating lines, strung out between the police and Auckland Harbourmaster boats, were able to stop it. The lines placed into the water were able to stop it by entangling the propeller.
"We’re reminding people of the importance of attaching themselves to the kill switch or engine safety cut-out switch on power boats," police said.
"This put them danger, as well as other boaties and people in the water, as the boat could have come back around and run over either of the young men or hit another vessel.
"The use of this switch is a necessary piece of equipment on power boats, and should be used on all occasions. Stay safe out there."
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