Three men have been rescued after spending six hours in the water clinging to a single lifejacket, a bucket and a petrol can when their boat capsized off Tolaga Bay in Gisborne this morning.
The trio had set out in calm conditions around 8am when their 7m aluminium boat became tangled in a craypot line and quickly capsized.
Around 11am, a commercial fishing vessel spotted the upturned hull and called the police, who in turn alerted the Coastguard’s National Operations Centre and requested Coastguard Gisborne to respond.
Three Coastguard volunteers on board the Gisborne Lion Foundation Rescue vessel joined police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Eastland Rescue helicopter, and Surf Life Saving's Gisborne Search and Rescue squad in a mammoth search effort for the group.
At 2.40pm, the NZDF's P-8 Poseidon spotted the trio floating in the water, a Coastguard spokesperson said. The men were brought to shore by the Coastguard where ambulance services were waiting.
Coastguard Gisborne skipper Aaron Boyle said the men were extremely fortunate.
"Their boat overturned quite suddenly. They didn’t have time to grab anything," he said.
"They are so lucky. Six hours in the water is a long time – especially with all three people holding onto one lifejacket."
One person was transferred to an ambulance in moderate condition, Maritime NZ said.
Boyle said everyone involved was "really elated they were found alive and well".
"It could have been a different story. They were bordering on hypothermia and very fatigued," he said.
"All the search and rescue services worked really well together. A big credit goes to the helicopter crew, Surf SAR squad, and the Defence Force. It was a massive effort from all services."
While the men were fortunate, the Coastguard said the rescue reinforced the need to always wear a lifejacket even in calm conditions as things could go wrong quickly.
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