A man has been rescued from a boat in the Bay of Islands after his index finger was cut off.
A person in another boat made a mayday call just after 8.30 last night, and also gave first aid.
Coastguard Duty officer Nico Doodeman says a helicopter was arranged, but in the end a medivac via sea was chosen as the best option.
Bay Rescue 2 - the volunteer crew based at Doves Bay - was paged out urgently and the man and his wife were taken to a waiting ambulance at Russell.
Doodeman praised a member of the public who helped the man.
