Coastguard HB on a mission

Date23 December 2020
Published date23 December 2020
Skipper and trainer Henry van Tuel says although he has his “fair share of war stories”, a highlight of being a member of the CGHB means he has the opportunity to make a real difference to the boating public in Hawke’s Bay.

“We have a great team of people that make up Coastguard Hawke’s Bay.

“We train together and undertake rescues together and at all times know that the wider team has your back,” Henry says.

Henry is one of four skippers — two male and two female — and has been with the organisation since 2007, after a six year stint with Coastguard Wellington in the 90s. Now semi-retired, he says he has the freedom to spend a bit more time at Coastguard than people in fulltime employment, and cites two main challenges the Coastguard faces.

“One is that as society changes people are becoming more time-poor so that it becomes more of a challenge for them to give time to Coastguard. Our volunteers have to juggle family time as well as work time. Our families are the unsung heroes of our organisation — they give up family time to enable their partners to attend Coastguard.”

The other challenge is money. “As our vessels and services become more sophisticated, the money required increases. Our rescue vessel Celia Knowles cost $1 million to put in the water 11 years ago. Her replacement cost today is more than $1.8 million. And then there is the ongoing running costs — we spend approximately $10,000 in fuel alone per annum.”

Henry says it costs Coastguard Hawke’s Bay $100,000 a year to provide a high quality marine rescue service here in Hawke’s Bay, with around 600 supporter members contributing about a third of that cost.

“For an annual membership fee we will provide a free assist if they break down. If you are not a member we charge $280 per hour for an assist.”

Napier Port and the Lion Foundation both provide annual grants, which need to be reapplied for each year. Trusts are also approached when CGHB needs to purchase a large item.

“We also have donations from the public, in fact our vessel is named after Celia Knowles who passed away a few years ago and with no living relatives she decided to leave her estate to Coastguard Hawke’s Bay. Her gift has provided an enduring legacy — since Celia Knowles was launched she has undertaken more than 275 assists and 117 police taskings.”

The annual Coastguard New Zealand raffle also raises a fair amount, Henry says.

“For every $10 ticket sold here we retain $7 for the unit. Look out for us during the week December 21-27. We do take Christmas Day off, albeit not from our rescue work. Check our Facebook page for locations.”

Henry says their key mission is saving lives at...

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