A man who capsized while fishing from a kayak off Wellington’s south coast yesterday had “chance” to thank after a dramatic rescue involving an interisland ferry, police said.
The rescue was completed by the Police Maritime Unit on board the Lady Elizabeth IV after the man was swept out to sea in a kayak by wind and a strong current.
The man had launched their kayak at Red Rocks to fish close to land, but the kayak capsized a few hundred metres offshore, with strong currents sweeping him further out to sea.
He managed to get back on the kayak but couldn’t paddle back to shore because of the 25-knot wind.
The man capsized a second time but managed to deploy the anchor to stop himself being swept further out to sea.
He lost his handheld VHF during the capsize and crawled onto the upturned kayak and while his cellphone was protected in a waterproof bag, there was no coverage in the area.
The man’s life jacket had also deflated.
Fortunately, the man was spotted by someone on the hills, who called police, leading to a mayday call.
The interisland ferry ‘Straitsman’ stopped mid journey to assist with locating the man, who was pulled from the water by police at about 3pm.
Senior Constable Kyle Smith of the Wellington Maritime Unit says things could have easily ended differently.
“Although the man had enough equipment for his undertaking, a number of things went wrong leaving it up to chance that he was rescued today,” he said.
“Police would like to remind people not to underestimate the weather forecast, check your equipment is working and always let someone know what your plans are.”
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