The search for a Warkworth fisherman who has been missing for more than a week is continuing.

Maritime safety agencies and police will be out in force at launching ramps and jetties over Labour weekend to explain Auckland Council's new rules on wearing life jackets in small boats.

As inaugural Safer Boating Week kicks off, boaties are being reminded how quickly things could go wrong.

As thousands of Kiwis prepare their boats to make a splash over summer, fishing expert Nicky Sinden has urged boaties to ensure their journeys don't sink before their vessels even hit the water.

Auckland Council's new rule on wearing lifejackets in small boats kicks in at Labour Weekend but needs a law change before it can be enforced with the issuing of tickets.

The Ice Water Challenge, where participants are doused with a bucket of ice cold water, is potentially fatal - even without alcohol, a doctor warns.

Surf lifesavers carried out nearly 40 per cent fewer rescues over summer compared with the year before, a figure attributed to unpredictable weather.

A baby critically injured in a crash near Kopaki, Waikato, this morning was unrestrained on its mother's lap when the car hit a bank.

A father saw his daughters' faces flash before him as he risked his life, diving into the surf to save two girls caught in a rip at a Hawkes Bay beach yesterday.

A surf boat crew will stage a symbolic row down Auckland's North Shore tomorrow, as they prepare for a commemorative international race in Turkey next year.

Exclusive: When 5-year-old Tre-Vaughn Dysart saw his classmate slip underwater his instincts kicked in.

Darryl Rolton wouldn't hesitate to help a mate in trouble. That instinctive nature cost the Christchurch man his life on Saturday when he leapt 11 metres off the Maruia Falls.

Motorists and beach-goers are again being urged to keep an eye on a king tide that has caused issues in recent days.

King tides are due to wash up on Auckland's shores just after 10am today, and the New Zealand Transport Agency is warning people to take extra care on coastal roads.

King tides lure dozens out to play but expert warns people to take care in the current.

A teenager who died after she was pulled from a Hamilton motel swimming pool had lived in an orphanage, and had a promising teaching career ahead of her.

A teenage girl caught in a rip had stopped breathing by the time lifeguards plucked her, limp and grey, from the sea.

"It was 3-4m surf, and really, really dumping." Two teenage sisters fought 4m waves to save a man and four children at an unguarded surf beach.