The Coastguard has announced its national Rescue of the Year and Raglan man Kevin Dreaver has received one of the top awards. Kevin Dreaver from Coastguard Raglan has been honoured as the Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year.
Mr Dreaver’s Coastguard Raglan peers cited not just his unwavering commitment to training himself and others in their nomination but his ability to encourage achievement and mentor others to the highest potential. A 14 year dedication to Coastguard as a volunteer has garnered respect from his fellow volunteers and Raglan community at large.
The individual award recipients each receive a prize that assists in furthering their education, and professional development, within Coastguard.
Coastguard keeps people safe on the sea, coastal waters and lakes of New Zealand. It is made up of over 2,430 highly-trained volunteers who put themselves in harm’s way on a regular basis to ensure the safety of New Zealander’s nationwide. This year Coastguard’s courageous volunteers brought over 7,080 people safely back to land and devoted over 307,000 hours to saving New Zealanders lives on the water.
The major rescue award went to Coastguard South Canterbury. “One second it was calm then the tug dropped and a wave came over the top,” remembers Erica Lister a member of the Coastguard South Canterbury Volunteer Unit awarded ‘Rescue of the Year’ at the National Coastguard Gala Awards Evening on Saturday.
On the evening of Monday 4 February 2013 volunteers from Coastguard South Canterbury were paged about an incident off the coast between Parora and St Andrews. A yacht with two people onboard had reported blown out sails, a broken motor and that they were drifting perilously towards rocks.
The Coastguard South Canterbury volunteers made the tough decision their 8.5 metre vessel could not safely handle the wind gusts of 40-45 knots and three and a half metre breaking sea swells. Tony Lister, a Tug Master for the Timaru Port Company by day and Coastguard South Canterbury volunteer, asked his boss for a tug to attempt a courageous rescue operation.
Within two hours the yacht had been located with no running lights onboard. Conditions were too rough to risk a tow, so the Coastguard team positioned themselves to give shelter from the conditions without collision.
By 1am the wind dropped and a 15 metre fishing boat skippered by another Coastguard volunteer was able to safely tow the yacht to shore.
Thanks to the expertise and training of Coastguard’s volunteers and the support of the local community two people were rescued in a high risk operation.
Coastguard South Canterbury received one of the five annual national awards given to individuals and Coastguard units whose contributions to the organisation were recognised at the conference, as the Coastguard community came together to honour the year’s achievements.
Patrick Holmes Coastguard CEO says, “This mission in dangerous conditions showcases the Coastguard spirit of cooperation within a community, of using appropriate resources and keeping crew safe while assisting those in distress. This is an outstanding example of the hours of training, hard work and team work that is required to save New Zealanders lives on the water in some incredibly challenging conditions.”
Mitre 10 is once again sponsoring a Coastguard national award, and Dave Elliott General Manager Marketing says it is proud to be part of honouring such an impressive Unit, risking life and limb to keep strangers safe.
“We are proud to support and be associated with Coastguard and the winners of this award. As citizens of New Zealand all staff at Mitre 10 thank you all for your commitment to saving lives.”
Coastguard New Zealand President, Dean Lawrence says, “Coastguard South Canterbury volunteers have shown outstanding service to Coastguard. What an example of exceptional bravery, dedication and skills. Thanks also to the expertise and efforts of the South Canterbury locals who ensured this mission had a successful outcome. The dangerous situation mentioned in this mission is not uncommon for our Coastguard volunteers to face. All award winners have gone above and beyond the call of duty for Coastguard New Zealand. Most people do not realise Coastguard is a charity and our Units are made up of volunteers.”
There are five categories for the awards:
Hutchwilco Coastguard Volunteer of the Year
Mark Bolland
Coastguard West Coast
Mitre 10 Coastguard Rescue of the Year
Coastguard South Canterbury
Coastguard South Canterbury
Coastguard Operational Volunteer of the Year
Tony Smith
Coastguard Clyde
Coastguard Air Patrol Volunteer of the Year
Laurie Officer
Coastguard Southland Air Patrol
Coastguard Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year
Coastguard Rescue Vessel Volunteer of the Year
Kevin Dreaver
Coastguard Raglan