The "unprecedented" uptick in drownings over the 2021/2022 summer holiday period was alarming. Video / NZ Herald'
Bay of Plenty men are being urged to pick up their game when it comes to water safety as new drowning figures reveal a concerning trend around people not wearing lifejackets.
So far this year, 10 people have drowned in the Bay, including a man who died at Cape Runaway, Ōpōtiki, on Boxing Day.
Danger rip sign on Anzac Day Mount main beach. 25 April 2017 Bay of Plenty Times Photograph by George Novak
Water Safety NZ figures obtained by NZME showed one person drowned while fishing, one while surfing, two while kayaking, two while swimming, two while diving and two fell into the water.
The drownings were at beaches, a lake, a river and a harbour bar.
“Swim at a patrolled beach, swim between the flags, have a good look before you leap [into water].”
Gerrard said the main areas of concern this summer were men aged over 55, kai gathering and rivers.
Eighty-nine people have drowned in New Zealand so far this year. At the same time last year, 86 people had drowned.
Gerrard said men aged over 55 made up most of the fatalities.
It was believed the older men appeared to be risk takers and deaths happened mostly while boating in the upper North Island.
Nationally, 77 per cent of men over 55 who drowned were not wearing lifejackets or, if they were, they were not being worn correctly.
Gerrard said this was a problem also reflected in kai gathering, which involved fishing from a boat or from land, or diving.
People angling were typically doing so from rocks at a beach and being swept away by a wave, or were falling from rocks into the water and unable to get back to land.
“Almost inevitably, they do not have a life jacket.”
Rivers were also a concern because people generally did not appreciate how hazardous they could be.
In an open letter to New Zealand men, Gerrard said about 30 Kiwis, mostly male, would die over the next two months through drowning, he said.
“We’ve all been ‘that guy’ who made bad decisions around the water and we’ve all been ‘that guy’ who thought ‘she’ll be right’ but I promise you it’s only luck and not skill, that you’re still with us today.”
Gerrard urged people to remember they may not be as good in the water as they were when they were 20.
“You guys are consistently over-represented in our drowning tragedies.
“No one is coming to save you. If you want to get home safely this summer, we need to man up and look after our mates.”
Yesterday Gerrard said it was disappointing that the message was not getting through to men - particularly older men.
“We need to do something more dramatic and get them to stop and think, in terms of their behaviour.
“They have been a cohort that has moved through the ages - 20 years ago they were the younger risk takers and now they appear to feel they are bulletproof. They have a bit more money for toys and they are getting themselves into trouble more often.”
The Bay of Plenty has the fourth-highest regional drowning rate in New Zealand.
Between 2009 and 2018, there were 79 preventable drownings in the region - 10 per cent of the total drownings in New Zealand in that time.
In April this year, a Tauranga fisherman spoke out after a lucky escape off the coast near Maketu.
He had taken a Rotorua friend fishing and was attempting to return in the dark through the Kaituna Cut when the boat capsized.
Coastguard volunteers found the men in the water and they were taken to shore.
Both men were wearing lifejackets and were described by rescuers as being very lucky.
At the time, the fisherman referred to a less-than-cautious approach to the trip which he regretted.
He said he had navigated the bar before but was caught off guard by a wave. He called it a “stupid mistake” and felt he would benefit from a Maketu Coastguard day course.
Maketu Coastguard’s Geoff Oliver said two boaties a year earlier were involved in a similar incident but were not wearing lifejackets. One drowned.
