Three young men stranded on Tikore Spencer Island last evening were brought safely ashore with assistance from Coastguard Bluff.
The group departed from the Green Point carpark at around 4.30pm, paddling to the island by kayak and small inflatable dinghy in calm conditions. When they were ready to head back at approximately 7pm, the wind had strengthened and the sea state had worsened considerably. After taking stock of the situation, they decided that attempting the crossing back to Bluff would be unsafe.
At around 7.45pm, the men contacted Coastguard Northern Communications to request assistance.
A Bluff Rescue crew was on the water shortly afterwards, backed by a South Port maintenance vessel. The men moved to higher ground and used their mobile phone lights to make their position clear to responders. A small runabout was then used to ferry all three to the Bluff Rescue vessel, and everyone reached shore without injury.
Costguard Bluff acknowledged the sound judgement the group displayed throughout the incident, noting their choice not to attempt the crossing, their decision to call for help early, and their consistent communication with rescuers during the response.
