An 84-year-old man has survived after his boat overturned and he was left in the water for over an hour yesterday afternoon.
The Rangiora man was rescued from Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds.
He says it was his life jacket that saved him.
“I was out in the water for over an hour, I can’t swim and if it wasn’t for my life jacket I would have drowned,” he says.
“I have been on the water all my life and only started to use the life jacket 30 years ago, and man alive I couldn’t believe how it kept my head above the water…it saved my life.”
The man had been staying at his bach and had gone to get some firewood in his dinghy.
Conditions were good when he set out. He was equipped with a lifejacket and a cell phone in a zip lock bag, but the dingy nose-dived on the return home and over turned.
His little dog was on board at the time and got trapped underneath. The man got the dog back onto the boat, but couldn't do the same for himself.
“I managed to grab a rock, was too exhausted to pull myself up so I got the phone out and rang 111,” he says.
He was rescued by police and the coastguard and taken to Wairau Hospital.
Area Prevention Manager Senior Sergeant Peter Payne says, “Having a cell phone in a water tight bag and wearing a life jacket most certainly saved this man’s life, this could have easily ended tragically.
“Even the most experienced boaties can get into trouble out on the water as conditions change rapidly and as we head into summer I would encourage everyone to take a leaf or two out of this man’s book,” he says.
The man’s dog is safe and well.
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