“One guy started sliding towards the back, and we were worried he was going to get caught up in the propeller. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
“It was a weird turn of events, makes you wonder what happened to the driver of the boat. Not something you see everyday. We’re just glad no one was hurt, and hope the driver is okay.”
Maritime New Zealand recreational craft principal adviser Matt Wood said trying to wrangle an out-of-control vessel was “very dangerous”.
“If, as a skipper you lose control of a vessel the best thing to do is get everyone clear of the water, then get hold of an agency such as Coastguard, Police, the Surf Lifesaving Club (if it occurs at a patrolled beach) for assistance.”
Wood said while incidents like these do not regularly occur, they have seen numerous similar occurrences where those trying to stop the vessels have been injured.
“Approaching a vessel that is out of control can result in serious injuries such as lacerations or even a fatality. To prevent incidents like this occurring we recommend having a kill cord connected to the motor, so if the vessel does get out of control, the engine will stop when the cord has been pulled.”
Maritime NZ is not investigating the incident.
In what has been described as “a national tragedy”, 14 people drowned in the holiday period, from 4pm on Christmas Eve to 6am on January 5.
They were aged between 4 and 74, and died between Motonau Island in Canterbury and the Kai Iwi Lakes in Northland.
On Sunday, a person died after being found in the water unresponsive in Whananaki, Northland; while another person was rushed to hospital after a water incident at Mount Maunganui.
According to data provided by Water Safety New Zealand, the last time New Zealand recorded 14 deaths was in the holiday period between 1997 and 1998.
It’s been nearly 40 years since more than this number of people died – 15 lost their lives between 1982 and 1983.
