Northland school sentenced for trip that ended in dramatic sea rescue

The scene of a dramatic helicopter rescue at Cave Bay in Northland's Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve in December, 2020. Photo / Supplied

Two Northland students are still triggered by the sight of the sea after fearing they would drown during a “frightening” school trip, a court has heard.

Tauraroa Area School was sentenced in Whangārei District Court on Tuesday after a WorkSafe investigation found the school failed to consider the on-water risks and controls for the trip to the Poor Knights Island Marine Reserve on December 7, 2020.

WorkSafe determined the school also had inadequate supervision in place and more generally, did not have an outdoor education safety management system in place for such trips.

WorkSafe lawyer Tanya Braden told the court one of the students, 14 at the time, thought she was going to drown. The other, a 13-year-old boy, recalled being flung out of the pair’s kayak and “smashed” into nearby rocks.

“He recounts being up on the rocks and listening to [the girl] screaming then gone quiet when she was under the waves.”

The boy wanted to get in to help his classmate but feared he would drown if he did so, Braden said.

The pair were among the 22 Tauraroa Area School students, aged 13 and 14, who went on an outdoor education trip with five staff and parent helpers aboard Dive! Tutukaka’s vessel Perfect Day.

Strong winds meant the boat’s skipper abandoned the original location in favour of Cave Bay, where it was safer to anchor.

Students were told by Dive! Tutukaka staff to stay away from cliffs and rocks in the bay, and to stay in sight of the boat at all times.

Over the next 90 minutes, the group snorkelled and kayaked while the wind increased to 15 to 20 knots and the swell grew to 1.5 metres.

Nearby, in an off-limits area, was a fissure that led to a cave, 15m long and 3m wide that narrowed near the back.

Six students made their way into the cave - invisible to anyone on the boat. Two were able to easily paddle back out on a double kayak.

A student kayaking solo had to fight against the current and waves to escape, so did a boy snorkelling - even though he was considered a strong swimmer.

Inside the cave, the remaining pair’s kayak had struck a partially submerged rock after being shoved by a wave.

Another swell pushed them further toward the back where their kayak capsized.

The girl was wearing a lifejacket but the boy was not wearing a flotation device or wetsuit.

While he wedged himself between the walls at the back of the cave to keep his head above water, his classmate’s feet became stuck in a crevice.

Each time a wave crashed through the cave, the girl was forced to hold her breath as the water washed over her.

The alarm was raised by one of the other students who had escaped the cave. They signalled for help to those on the boat.

Four Dive! Tutukaka staff went to the students’ aid.

One was able to swim to the girl and free her feet before taking her to safety, bringing her 15-minute ordeal to an end.

However, her rescuer, William Bowden, was then himself thrown into the back of the cave. He pulled himself and the boy onto a ledge above the water.

There the pair waited for more than two hours to be rescued, as darkness fell with the sound of the churning waves around them.

Eventually, the Northland Rescue Helicopter and Coastguard arrived. Land Search and Rescue New Zealand alongside St John Mid-North territory manager Andrew Fergusson, a trained rescue swimmer, were able to enter the cave and rescue the boy with the help of the Dive! Tutukaka crew member.

The crew member then made his own way out of the cave.

Tauraroa Area School board of trustees had pleaded guilty to one charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 for exposing two individuals to the risk of harm or illness.

Tauraroa Area School has been carrying out trips with Dive! Tutukaka since 2016, the court heard. Photo / Tania Whyte

Dive! Tutukaka faces the same charge under the act and is still before the court. It has not yet entered a plea.

The school was sentenced by Judge John McDonald to pay emotional reparation to both students - the sum of which is suppressed.

No fine was imposed as Judge McDonald said any substantial amount would “cripple” the school, which is funded primarily by government grants, and reduce the amount of money available for student education.

However, the school was ordered to pay half of the prosecution fees, which were around $2500.

During sentencing, Judge McDonald shared how the girl’s “extremely important cultural connection” to the sea had been severed by the incident.

“[...] while her physical injuries were bad they have healed but her emotional and spiritual injuries have not.”

Judge McDonald said the girl’s victim impact statement spoke of how the sea was her everything but she now experiences anxiety just seeing waves.

She is plagued with flashbacks and can no longer take part in waka ama.

The boy, Judge McDonald said, used to have nightmares that he was back in the cave.

“He used to love going to the beach and swimming in the waves but now he hates it.”

Tauraroa Area School principal Grant Burns said he and the school’s board of trustees were grateful for the successful rescue of the students.

Tauraroa Area School principal Grant Burns, pictured here in 2019. Photo / Michael Cunningham

“Everyone involved in the incident is eager to learn how processes might be improved to prevent such a thing happening again.”

Burns said the school had since thoroughly reviewed its Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) planning with an emphasis on ensuring a clear supervision plan is negotiated with outside providers.

“The school is determined to maintain its excellent outdoor education programmes, which give our students amazing learning opportunities.”

WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Danielle Henry said schools and parents shouldn’t view this case as forbidding outdoor education, which is an important part of school life.

“Students should be able to participate safely and parents must have confidence their tamariki will be kept safe.

“This incident had all the hallmarks of a drowning in the making. I commend the bravery of the survivors who came forward to give their evidence. They were left traumatised by what happened, and it’s only by extremely good luck that they were able to go home to their whānau.”

Ministry of Education Te Tai Raro (North) hautū (leader) Isabel Evans Hautū said the ministry would focus on working with Education Outdoors New Zealand to support the school to ensure it is meeting its responsibilities under the Health and Safety Act 2015.