by Howard Nicholls | Mar 19, 2026 | Coastguard Sumner News
A highly valued member of our unit, Vickie Hudson-Craig, passed away on 13th March after a long illness. We received this news with great sadness. Vickie joined us as a boat crew trainee about 10 years ago. She left Coastguard when she had her daughter Ruby, and later...
by Howard Nicholls | Feb 27, 2026 | Coastguard Sumner News
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...
by Howard Nicholls | Feb 15, 2026 | Coastguard Sumner News
Mid‑January started quietly for Coastguard Sumner, but things soon picked up for our volunteer crew with five callouts to mid-February. Regular training is well underway again, and our team aboard Blue Arrow Rescue had a memorable moment last week when a pod of...
by Howard Nicholls | Jan 13, 2026 | Coastguard Sumner News
The Christmas/New Year holiday period kept us busy with 7 callouts, the first being mid-afternoon on Christmas Day. About a dozen volunteer crew left their Christmas celebrations to respond to a report of two swimmers in difficulties off New Brighton pier. Our jet ski...
by Howard Nicholls | Nov 15, 2025 | Coastguard Sumner News
Coastguard Sumner volunteer Daniel Manchester has returned from an inspiring trip to California at an international drone technology conference. Daniel and his employer Proform Group were honoured as one of three international finalists for DroneDeploy’s prestigious...
by Howard Nicholls | Nov 15, 2025 | Coastguard Sumner News
At this year’s Open Day visitors got an up-close look at our operations and enjoyed chatting with our dedicated volunteers. From ‘casualty’ pickups to precision manoeuvres near the breakwater, our live demos showcased the impressive rescue skills of our volunteers....
