Safety
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Don’t Get Caught Out: A tender tale
Some stories that circulate around the liveaboards are good for a laugh — but they also carry important lessons.
Article
Respected, not conquered: Fishing New Zealand’s Wild West Coast
If you think fishing the West Coast is all about trophy catches and postcard views, think again. While the fishery off New Zealand’s rugged West Coast...
Article
What happens when the rudder fails?
Losing your rudder hundreds of miles offshore is a serious situation. Your ability to control the boat is instantly compromised, especially in heavy w...
Article
Emerging NZ boating safety concerns
New Zealander's love affair with boating continues strongly, albeit with the latest IPSOS Boating Monitor figures telling us that there has been a 9% ...
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Riding along with Coastguard
A sunny Saturday riding along with Auckland Coastguard aboard
Trillian Trust Rescue turned into a real life call out and tow.
Healthy batteries keep us safe
Over 100 Coastguard vessels rely on Century Batteries to power their Search and Rescue missions and aid boaties in distress, saving lives at sea.
Crew briefings
Been to the boat ramp recently and heard the shouting and hollering as a flustered, bewildered looking crew leaps ashore with a line, frantically look...
Reverse docking
A cheat for when you are struggling to come alongside a dock bow-first because it’s a tight space and the wind is blowing you away.
Anatomy of a Rescue: Essence Pt 2
Continuing Bruce Goodwin’s account of the sinking of the yacht Essence off the east coast of Northland in October 2019, and the crew’s rescue.
The Fresnel Lens
In 1823 a humble French physicist – playing around with glass prisms – discovered a way to boost the intensity of a single light. It led to a revolut...
gas basics
Since 2010 any gas installation or appliance that’s a permanent fixture of a vessel, caravan or building now comes under the NZ 2010 Gas Safety & ...
safety at sea: a lesson learned
A committed safety-at-sea advocate, record-breaking yachtswoman Dee Caffari MBE details her experience of falling overboard during a recent offshore ...
Godfather of Coastguard
Alan Haddock’s one of those quiet, self-effacing chaps who’s worked tirelessly behind the scenes at Coastguard for decades helping others. His main c...
Avoid the flame-test
An Auckland man found out the hard way why you should never use an open flame to check for a gas leak. He suffered serious burns when his lighter caus...
Overloading
It does not matter what vessel you have – the basic stability principles are the same. Simply put, stability is best achieved by keeping the boat’s ce...
Fire on board
What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend sailing and fishing took a turn for the worse when the owner – Peter – accidentally connected two exposed w...
Next Generation McMurdo FastFind 220 PLB
The PLB receives coordinates from the new precision satellite network in addition to the tried and tested GPS network and therefore provides ultimate ...
Boating at night
Boating at night can be a daunting experience – not being able to see your surroundings is nerve-wracking. But it doesn’t have to be stressful. With t...