Hawke's Bay Coastguard was called to rescue a father and his three sons from a small dinghy fire off the Port of Napier this afternoon.
Video / Hawke's Bay Coastguard
A young family in a dinghy which was “literally bouncing off the rocks” was successfully rescued on Sunday after their engine caught fire near Napier Port - the second big rescue in the area in less than 48 hours.
Hawke’s Bay Coastguard member Henry van Tuel said his pager went off about 12.30pm on Sunday to reports of a boat with an engine fire.
“There were two police officers that we took out because we weren’t quite sure what the situation was at that point,” van Tuel said.
Just after 1pm, crews were on the water and saw the boat getting pummelled by the choppy swell.
“We saw the 12 to 14-foot dinghy with what looked like a father and three kids on board.
“They were literally bouncing off the rocks on the side of the port.”
Members of the Hawke's Bay Coastguard took the vessel Celia Knowles out to the port and towed the dinghy to safety. Photo / Coastguard Hawke's Bay
Fortunately, as the boat had an outboard motor, the fire shorted the engine, so no petrol was pumping into it and the fire was put out relatively quickly.
Van Tuel and the crew navigated the rolling swell with the vessel Celia Knowles, finding a way to get the dinghy away from the rocks using a tow rope.
“We put [Celia Knowles] in with a couple of crew out on the deck and pulled the dinghy out to sea. Then we got everybody off and brought them back.”
One minor injury was reported, with one of the occupants receiving a small burn.
“They were pretty shaken and pretty thankful. It was a reasonably strong breeze pushing them on to the rocks, and there’s no place to land around there.”
Van Tuel said the young family was well-prepared, and it was good they had the right communication and safety measures in place.
“The great thing is they were wearing life jackets and had good comms. It was just bad luck.”
On Friday afternoon four people were rescued after their boat hit a log and sank within a few hundred metres of the port.
The Trident, which foundered after hitting a log a few hundred metres off the Port of Napier on Friday, pictured at the weekend at the Napier Sailing Club pontoons. Photo / HBRC
The boat was one of more than 100 participating in the club’s annual Megafish tournament , which started on Wednesday and ended on Saturday.
A port spokesperson said the day had brought “extreme wind” to the area.
“I’ve heard there’s a number of people going boating on Tuesday. Keep a really close eye on the water, because there are definitely still logs around,” van Tuel said.
“Wear a life jacket and always make sure you have good comms on your boat.”
The boat, the Trident, was later towed to the Napier Sailing Club marina amid pollution concerns for what was said to be about 500 litres of fuel on board.
On Monday it was on the hard stand at the sailing club facilities, but as for the obstacle it hit on Friday it was unclear where it had come from, but the possibilities included being a log fallen from a ship at sea.
Deputy Harbourmaster Adrian Wright the log was not visible “...so we are unable to say where it came from.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
