Callout: 12:53pm, Thurs 26th Feb 2026, tasked by Police.
Time was of the essence: a 5.4m boat was sinking near the entrance to Lyttelton Harbour with five people on board.
Our fast-response vessel, HamiltonJet Rescue, was in the water in just 11 minutes with 3 volunteer crew.
As they raced to the scene, Coastguard Canterbury’s rescue vessel and our own all-weather vessel, BlueArrow Rescue, were prepared for launch to provide backup.
When HamiltonJet Rescue arrived, the situation was major.
The boat was swamped and on the rocks at the entrance to Little Port Cooper near the harbour heads. The five boaties were stranded wet and cold on a sliver of shoreline, stuck between the surging sea and steep cliffs.
In a big win for safety, all five were wearing lifejackets. This allowed them to survive the swim from their swamped boat and scramble onto the shore.
Extracting them was a team effort. Our shallow-draft jet boat HamiltonJet Rescue got very close to shore, then each boatie was assisted by a Coastguard Sumner crew member to swim the few metres to the waiting rescue boat.
They were then transferred to the larger Canterbury and Sumner rescue vessels for warmth and transport. They were met at Diamond Harbour and at Naval Point by Hato Hone St John for medical care.
A huge shout-out to the Sumner and Canterbury Coastguard volunteers, teamwork truly made a difference.
Photo: Bjorn Stankowitz