Coastguard exists because of the willingness of individuals to give their time to furthering the safety of the local boating community. Coastguard Hawke's Bay is one of 70 Coastguard Units which form the Royal New Zealand Coastguard Inc.

Our search and rescue area is one of the largest covered by a Coastguard unit in New Zealand. It spans from Table Cape in the North; South to Aramoana, Blackhead, Poranghau and Karakau, and up to twelve miles off shore. In fact we have taken CK 40 miles offshore after receiving dispensation from Maritime New Zealand.

Our current resources include:

• An 11.7 metre AMF rigid hull inflatable with twin Cummins 480 horsepower driving two Hamilton Jet units, which can push the vessel and crew of 6 along in reasonable conditions at 35 knots (from the breakwater to Cape Kidnappers in about 25 minutes)

• Certified Rescue Vessel skippers

• Rescue vessel crew members including trainees

• Base crew members

• An incident management team

• A radio watch service with trained radio operators

• We have a management committee providing governance and management to the organisation

During 2019/20 year Coastguard Hawke's Bay attended:

• 6 Police 111 emergency call outs, 14 boat hours

• 23 callouts to help vessels which had broken down or needed assistance, 71.5 hours

• 85 training exercises, 159 boat hours

Coastguard is a charity totally dependent upon community support to fund our operations. This revenue comes from membership subscriptions, donations, grants, sponsorships and other fund-raising activities.

If you would like more information about becoming a member or would like to know how to financially support Coastguard Hawke's Bay click here for more information.

Coastguard Hawke's Bay is a part of the Coastguard Eastern Region. If you would like to contact the Eastern region, click here for their website.

How does it all work when it goes wrong out at sea...