Lost: Common Sense
(Airwaves magazine - Issue 7, Winter 2009)
by Nick Hawes
Missing in numerous locations throughout the country over Summer 2009. Many hours and vast funds have been spent searching for it, but so far to no avail.
If found, please let the teams and resources of New Zealand’s rescue organisations know, so they can respond accordingly.
When confronted with the idea of taking small children out to sea in a boat without lifejackets, a radio or enough fuel to get safely back to shore, the majority of rational people would baulk at the very idea.
We live in a country seemingly obsessed with every possible aspect of the weather. People head to work each day armed with an indepth knowledge of temperature highs, last night’s lows, wind-chill factors, humidity variants and the potential risk for getting wet while walking to the car. So mention a plan for a river trip when bad weather is forecast and they’d look at you as if you were crazy.
Suggest to them that it might be a good idea to head off for a tramping expedition into the West Coast bush wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a bottle of whisky and the reaction would generally be the same.
Yet once again, all through the summer and early autumn of 2009, New Zealanders received daily reminders of the bad judgement, lack of common sense and often sheer stupidity of people who took to the mountains, forests and waterways without adequate preparation, equipment or ability, and either got lost, injured or killed.
As it turned out, across the country, the 2008/2009 summer season was one of the busiest on record with the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington handling emergency situations from one end of the country to the other.
The significant rise in incidents saw 299 Search and Rescue operations conducted nationwide in December and January compared to 208 incidents for the same months the previous year.
Maritime incidents alone accounted for 51 responses in January compared to 19 in January 2008.
While it is the business of New Zealand’s rescue teams to respond and carry out emergency operations, it is the nature of some of the incidents which causes them a great deal of concern.
There is no doubt that across the summer months in particular, recreational-based activities account for an increasing number of rescue callouts. In many cases, the incidents are either preventable or the severity of the incident could have been dramatically reduced through a change in attitude towards safety and preparedness.
While the vast majority of rescue callouts around the country have obviously been through no direct fault of the victims involved, an increasing number of leisure-related incidents display disturbing common themes.
Maritime New Zealand lists the four leading causes of recreational boating deaths in New Zealand as:
- ignorance of basic safety procedures such as failure to carry lifejackets
- failure to carry reliable communications
- not bothering to check weather conditions
- too much alcohol
These are themes which are repeatedly displayed in Search and Rescue operations carried out on land as well as on the water.
This season, three men set out on a walk near Punakaiki on the West Coast wearing only shorts and t-shirts and carrying a bottle of whiskey and got stuck on a steep bluff.
They were rescued after an operation involving thirty volunteers, two dog teams and a rescue helicopter.
In January, a search operation was mounted for three young men, also dressed in light clothing, who had gone missing after floating down the Rangitata River on a toy raft and an inflatable plane.
The men were found the following morning, having spent the night in a makeshift shelter.
In Mount Aspiring National Park, an inexperienced and under-prepared tramper was rescued after spending nine days in a remote hut. She had tackled a track for experienced trampers after being clearly informed that the track was not suitable for her.
In the North Island, two Napier boaties were rescued after a drinking session resulted in them taking a friend’s boat out to sea without telling anyone and without taking any safety equipment.
Even when it may appear that some people are taking precautions, the opposite can turn out to be true. In January, our own Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded to a distress beacon from a vessel in Banks Peninsula that had been inadvertantly activated.
The helicopter had to hover above the runabout trying to get the boaties to realise what was going on - because they had no other form of communication on board!
Eventually they realised their beacon was active and turned it off.
Regardless of any of the issues or obvious costs and resources involved in any operation, New Zealand rescue teams continue to concentrate on providing a professional level of service that is appropriate to each and every emergency response.
Our rescue crews see first hand, the dangers that our wilderness areas can hold but are quick to point out that the last thing they want to do is discourage people from the enjoyment of experiencing it.
However, our environment and the activities undertaken can be enjoyed fully if people take a responsible attitude towards their own safety and the safety of those around them.
With basic precautions, if something does go wrong, your chances of being found and rescued quickly are massively enhanced.
Basic safety precautions include:
- Keeping people informed of where you are, where you intend going and when you expect to return
- Understanding the nature of what you intend to do and not exceeding your own limitations
- Being dressed appropriately and carrying basic safety equipment
- lifejackets, first aid kit, locator beacons
- Being aware of weather conditions and forecasts
- Understanding and following operating regulations - particularly with respect to boats and river craft
Apart from those basic precautions, one piece of safety equipment is vitally important and should be carried in all conditions at all times.
Common Sense.
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