Police also made the point that people should be aware of weather and local water conditions before heading out and have two forms of waterproof communication at hand, such as cellphones or marine radio.
Maritime NZ says boaties need to avoid alcohol and to be prepared and “know the ways of the water before they let go of the land”.
Maritime NZ principal adviser on recreational craft Matt Wood said 22 people died in recreational boating accidents in 2021 - compared to the 10-year average of 17. Twenty were males and 11 of the deaths involved people not wearing a lifejacket when they went into the water.
Most deaths occurred during holiday periods and most were avoidable.
Water Safety New Zealand’s statistics on drowning show high-risk groups are men, adults boating, young people swimming and Asian, Māori and Pasifika people fishing.
WSNZ says people should challenge themselves within their abilities and skill level and know what they can and can’t do in the water.
In Dunedin, a youth was caught in a rip and swept out to sea while boogie boarding at Tomahawk Beach. Although managing to get back to shore unaided, the youth credited a buoyant wetsuit for preventing a worse outcome.
“Get a good wetsuit. This one’s very, very thick, and it’s got a great amount of buoyancy, so I wasn’t going under no matter what happened. I think if you’re going to swim in very deep water, you need a good wetsuit that will keep you safe — and have family that will call the Coastguard.”
Learning from a bad experience can be a good teacher for future behaviour, but some people unfortunately don’t get a second chance.
They may have left having the required local knowledge and key decision-making to someone else.
Taking advantage of any safety lessons and guidance available, and heeding the advice of people more experienced are useful steps to take.
But mindset and attitude seem particularly crucial. Being over confident or optimistic, reckless, feeling bullet-proof, impulsive, or fatalistic can lead to trouble in the outdoors.
As with dodging Covid, the best approach is to reduce obvious risk, while still being prepared to go places and socialise.
For example, people wanting to avoid the virus can still have a drink with mates. It’s just that the safer option is to do it outside in the open air or in a well-ventilated and spaced room than somewhere crowded and closed off.
On the water, making adequate preparations for a trip and being prepared to postpone it if necessary, does not equate to being a killjoy. People can still have fun in the sun.
