Harbourmaster calls for common sense ahead of busy summer season

Queenstown Harbourmaster Marty Black is calling for people to exercise common sense when they are out on the water this summer.

This comes after two separate incidents in as many days where people have been found on the water without lifejackets or any basic equipment, in vessels that are far from adequate for the conditions.

On Saturday evening three people crossed The Narrows between the Queenstown Gardens and Kelvin heights on Lake Wakatipu in a children’s inflatable boat. They were intercepted by the Harbourmaster after arriving at the Queenstown boat ramp without lifejackets and were educated on the importance of safe boating.

The following Monday a solo journeyman built himself a raft out of sticks and attempted to navigate the Clutha River from Albert Town to the Luggate Red Bridge. He had no life jacket or means of communication, nor did anyone know what he was doing.

Unfortunately for him the construction of his raft was less than ideal and it disintegrated shortly after he’d embarked on his adventure. Fortunately however, he was spotted by a commercial operator and was picked up by the Wanaka Harbourmaster.

Queenstown Harbourmaster Marty Black says both of these incidents highlight the need for people to take reasonable precautions before they go out on the water. “As the weather continues to heat up we’ll start seeing more people out, which is great, but people need to make sure they are prepared before they take to the water.”

“Both of the situations earlier this week could have easily been much more serious if anything had gone wrong, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a bit of common sense if you’re planning on using our lakes or rivers.”

“Wearing lifejackets, taking two forms of communication and telling people your plans are as close to boat safety 101 as you can get and none of these guys were following nay of these fundamentals. While it’s great that no one ended up in trouble, it would be much better if they didn’t put themselves in harm’s way in the first place.”

More information about boating in the Queenstown lakes District is available here

ENDS

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