A group of teenage boys have told of an hour-long rescue in which they pulled three struggling swimmers from ferocious seas.

John Watkins is pleading with families to be safety conscious in the water this summer, after his son, Zharian Watkins, drowned in an accident last year.

A man and his eight-year-old son were winched to safety after rising tides trapped the pair on rocks at Whakatane heads this afternoon.

New Zealand's most treacherous beach, Hot Water Beach, is already on its way to racking up another high rescue count in 2013.

As searchers tried desperately to find diver Robbie Farquhar, his two young children were on the beach watching and waiting for their dad to come home.

For the past five years, on average, 10 people have drowned in New Zealand waters over the official Christmas holiday period. Water Safety New Zealand wants this dropped to zero.

A 15-year-old Christchurch schoolboy drowned when his family misread a sign, assuming that because it showed a person swimming it meant the river was safe.

A "brave'' surfer who risked his life to save swimmers dragged out to sea was forced to let go of a young man to save the man's girlfriend.

Boaties need to take responsibility to prevent more deaths at sea and remember what they are risking, a water safety expert says.

Tourist-pulling Hot Water Beach has been revealed as New Zealand's most treacherous of the summer.

A man's fatal decision to go swimming after drinking at a party has his family urging others not to make the same mistake.

Discovery of woman's body in the pool of a Mt Eden apartment complex alarms water safety campaigners.