Coastguard rescue results in radio upgrade

The dramatic Coastguard rescue of a father and his children in the Firth of Thames has resulted in a significant technology upgrade for the unit that attended.

Coastguard Maraetai responded to the call for help in July 2020 after the family’s kayak capsized in rough conditions, a kilometre from shore near Kaiaua. “It was a real challenge to locate the family,” says president and skipper of Coastguard Maraetai, Trent Dixon.

“We had to work closely with Coastguard Thames, and our air patrol and communications teams and that really drove home the importance of having good comms gear onboard.”

The operation was subsequently named Coastguard New Zealand’s Rescue of the Year 2022 but, at the time, Coastguard Maraetai was using a set of old radio headsets that didn’t integrate with the radio.

It meant they had limited functionality and the signal sometimes broke up while in use forcing crew to resort to using their mobile phones to coordinate with other rescue services.“After the Kaiaua operation, we realised we had to do something about the old headsets - find a way to upgrade them,” he said.

As a charity which relies on donations and volunteers, Coastguard Maraetai applied for and received a grant of $25,000 from the ANZ NZ Staff Foundation.