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Coastguard Howick gives back to Westfield Pakuranga

Friday 4 May 2012, 1:47PM

By Mango Communications

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Ian Gibson with Westfield Pakuranga Rachel Beere, Brian Waters.
Ian Gibson with Westfield Pakuranga Rachel Beere, Brian Waters. Credit: Mango Communications

Coastguard Howick presented Westfield Pakuranga with a Certificate of Appreciation last week after receiving a generous donation.

Coastguard Howick Unit President, Ian Gibson, says the volunteers were thrilled that the Unit was the chosen charity and the Certificate of Appreciation was a token of their gratitude.

“The donation is going to be a huge help for the unit and will be invested towards upgrading safety equipment including life jackets and uniforms.

“Our volunteers always do their best to keep Kiwis safe on the water. They don’t ask for anything in return except the best training and equipment to allow them to do their job properly. It’s heart-warming for this to be acknowledged by the local community.”

Rachel Beere, Westfield Pakuranga Centre Marketing Manager, says Coastguard Howick was their chosen charity for 2012 because of their dedication and involvement in the local community.

“We are very much a beach going nation and the team at Coastguard Howick do a great job of keeping Kiwis safe on our local waterways. They are a true asset to our community and this is just one way we could help them keep up the invaluable work they do of keeping us safe at sea.”

Established in 1956, the Howick Coastguard Unit has 40 volunteers who respond to an average of 172 call outs every year.

About Coastguard Northern Region:

Coastguard is the charity that provides New Zealand’s primary maritime search and rescue service.  The organisation operates from a network of four regions and 71 affiliated units, located around the coastline and major lakes of New Zealand.

Coastguard Northern Region operates the area from Thames across to the Mokau River and everything north and is based at the Auckland Marine Rescue Centre (AMRC) in Mechanics Bay. Each year the operations room at the AMRC receives over 100,000 VHF marine radio calls.

Coastguard Northern Region however, does more than daring rescues at sea. Generations of dedicated people have established an organisation that provides a wealth of services to every person using our harbours and beaches.

·         We provide a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year service.
·         Install and maintain VHF radio repeaters throughout the Northern Region to enable mariners to communicate with each other over long distances.
·         Install and maintain buoys and beacons to make recreational boating safer.
·         Provide a 24 hour continuous weather forecast on marine radio VHF channels 20, 21, 22 and 23.
·         Accept trip reports from any vessel able to make radio contact.
·         Provide a range of boating education courses to ensure that boaties have a sound knowledge of their boats and the rules of the road at sea.

Coastguard’s Northern Region Maritime School gives boaties the skills they need for a safe and enjoyable time on the water. They have a range of theory-based and practical (RYA) courses available. These are aimed at encouraging people to get to know the boating rules and regulation whilst gaining the skills and experience to keep safe.