'We keep seeing lifejackets that are 40 to 50 years old, if not older'

Trade in your old, outdated lifejacket for a discount for a new one. Photo / Coastguard

Coastguard's Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade Campaign is coming to Waikato and Coromandel as part of a nationwide mission to remove as many ill-fitting, damaged and old lifejackets from circulation as possible.

From mid-December until the end of the month, residents can trade in their old lifejackets for a discount on a range of new and fit-for-purpose Hutchwilco lifejackets.

Over the past seven years more than 15,000 boaties have used the scheme.

Old4New Community Ambassador Sue Tucker says she sees lifejackets in varying conditions.

"We keep seeing lifejackets that are 40 to 50 years old, if not older. Some lifejackets that were considered safe decades ago are now dangerous – for example, if one of the old kapok-filled lifejackets gets punctured, it can get waterlogged and becomes no better than a wet pillow around your neck," she says.

Over the past seven years more than 15,000 boaties have traded in their old, damaged or worn lifejackets. Photo / Coastguard

Although many of the lifejackets traded in are old and worn the Old4New team also see families upgrading lifejackets children have outgrown.

"It just shows that this campaign is essential, because without it people would continue to use unfit lifejackets, which aren't going to keep them safe on the water," says Tucker.

Latest figures from Maritime New Zealand show that 1.7 million Kiwis, that's almost 45 per cent of the adult population, are now out on the water using a diverse range of watercraft. This makes the campaign even more relevant these days.

For the first time the Coastguards will now travel with two vans instead of one.

Coastguard CEO Callum Gillespie says: "Only having one van meant we weren't able to spend as long in the South Island as we do in the North. By increasing our fleet to two, we hope to meet the growing demand for the campaign across the country and spend more time in locations we have not travelled to before."

Where the van will be in the Waikato

December 28 from noon until 3pm, the van will be in Whitianga, 14 Moewai Rd.

The van will also come to Pauanui (1 Jubilee Drive) on December 29, from 10am until 4pm.

Last stops for this year are Whangamata and Waihi Beach on December 30. The van will be in Whangamata from 8am until 11am at Whangamata Boat Ramp (Beach Rd) before continuing to Waihi Beach where it will be from 2pm until 5pm at Bowentown Boating and Sports Fishing Club (Pio Rd).

In the New Year, the van will be in Taupo January 5 from 8am until 11am at Trev Terry Marine (27 Nukuhau St).