Calm seas and clear purpose
When I caught up with Sarah Psaila soon after her nomination for the 2025 International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) Awards, her tone was calm, grounded, and full of quiet pride. Recognition, she was quick to say, isn’t about her, it’s about the team.
It’s easy to picture her in that role: hand steady on the throttle, eyes scanning the horizon, reading the water as naturally as most people read a map. As both a Coastguard Auckland skipper and Safe Boating Programme Manager for Coastguard Tautiaki Moana, Sarah embodies what it means to turn experience into action, leading rescues one day and teaching safety the next.
When she’s not commanding a Coastguard Auckland rescue crew, Sarah is leading another critical mission onshore; ensuring the next generation learns how to stay safe on the water before ever stepping aboard.
As Safe Boating Programme Manager for Coastguard, she oversees the nationwide initiative teaching thousands of school students every year about lifejackets, trip planning, weather, and emergency response.
Her role involves developing classroom resources, and coordinating delivery nationwide. It’s a demanding job, but for Sarah, the motivation is simple: to prevent avoidable accidents through education and confidence.
“As a mum, that safety factor means everything,” she says. “Even though my kids are older now, I still think about how quickly things can change out there. Everyone deserves to come home.”
Recognition on the world stage
That quiet determination hasn’t gone unnoticed. In October, Coastguard Auckland and Sarah were named finalists in the 2025 International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) Awards, which recognise excellence in maritime search and rescue.
The nomination honoured her leadership in building confidence and opportunity for women in SAR and her contribution to Coastguard’s volunteer training network.
“I was honoured and proud for New Zealand,” she says. “It’s not just me out there; it’s the whole team behind Coastguard Auckland. I can’t do what I do without them.”
Although the award went to Caron Parfitt of Marine Rescue New South Wales, Sarah says the experience left her inspired. “Being part of that global network reminds you that we’re all working toward the same goal — saving lives on the water.”
Confidence through inclusion
Sarah began volunteering with Coastguard over a decade ago, starting as crew before qualifying as skipper, a role she still performs regularly with Coastguard Auckland’s on-water team. She admits that confidence, not competence, slowed her progress at first.
“I didn’t think I could do it,” she says. “It was my husband who joined later and gave me a push. Once I realised the only thing holding me back was me, I went for it.”
That self-belief carried her through Coastguard’s first all-women skipper development course in 2023, where she trained alongside seven other volunteers. Six have since qualified as skippers.
A year later, she joined the IMRF #WomenInSAR training in Finland; a three-day event bringing together sixteen women from ten countries. They crewed Finnish Lifeboat Institution vessels ranging from rigid inflatables to 26-metre launches, sharing leadership techniques and on-water experience.
“We just need that extra nudge sometimes,” she explains. “Men will jump in and learn on the way. Women often want to be 80 percent ready before they try — but we can do it too.”
Today she mentors women in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, encouraging them to take that same leap — both on deck and in command.
Starting young and staying safe
Sarah’s passion for prevention extends to the next generation. Through Little Skippers, Junior Skippers, and the new Apprentice Skippers programme for teens, she’s creating a pathway that builds water confidence from classroom to crew.
These early lessons, she believes, are the foundation of lifelong safety habits — an approach that aligns perfectly with Water Safety Month New Zealand, when boating groups nationwide focus on education before recreation.
Empowering others on and off the water
Outside her Coastguard role, Sarah works alongside groups such as Wild Chix, helping women build boating confidence in a fun, supportive environment. During a recent Women in Boating Day Out, she skippered one of the boats I was on, leading hands-on drills including man-overboard recoveries and close-quarters handling. Her approach: straight forward, goal orientated, no need to panic, no need to doubt you can do this.
Whether she’s guiding school children through lifejacket checks or commanding a rescue vessel in the Hauraki Gulf, Sarah Psaila’s leadership is grounded in calm competence and genuine care.
Her message this Water Safety Month is simple:
“You don’t need to be an expert or a hero to make a difference,” she says. “Just be prepared, stay calm, and look out for each other.”
It’s advice that sums up her philosophy, and the Coastguard spirit that keeps New Zealand’s waters safer for everyone.
