Police are urging caution after a Lake Taupō paddleboarder was blown 5km out across the lake.
The man was last seen paddling off Waitetoko Beach on his paddleboard, heading towards Motutaiko Island at about 11am yesterday.
By 3.50pm, the man’s sister raised the alarm and police, the harbourmaster, and coastguard volunteers from helped search for him.
Police said with no lifejacket, no personal locator beacon, and no phone, a plane was sent up to find him.
Constable Barry Shepherd said the incident is "a classic example of the unexpected happening".
The man was found around 6pm in the water, holding on to the back of his board. He was about 5km from his departure point.
Shepherd said the man — who was in his sixties — could easily have died in the lake.
“Because of the wind, he would’ve been blown right the way across the lake to the shoreline about 12km away, he wouldn’t have been able to stop it.”
He said anyone going on the water — no matter their skill level,— needed to take basic precautions to keep safe.
“At the least, the bare minimum you need to do is wear a lifejacket on the water.
"Take some form of waterproof container to put your phone in – and put that in your lifejacket so you can use it if the worst happens.
"Even better, take a personal locator beacon and keep that in your lifejacket. “Everybody thinks ‘it won’t happen to me’, when they should be thinking ‘what if it does?’.”
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