Course to help boaties cross the bar

Coastguard Raglan, with support from Environment Waikato, is helping to educate boaties on how to cross the notorious Raglan bar and to be generally safer at sea.

The Coastguard is holding a Raglan-specific course for boaties on Sunday 19 April, while EW will be providing safe boating resources and North Island harbour guides to participants.

In the last week of January 2009 alone, four incidents on the Raglan bar involving powerboats were reported to the Raglan harbourmaster. Three of these incidents involved the boats capsizing, and, sadly, one of the incidents was fatal.

“When we ran this course last year about 110 people turned up, so there’s a definite need for people to learn about bar crossing,” Coastguard Raglan’s Kevin Dreaver said.

The course on 19 April will run from 10am to about 1pm. Registration starts at 9.30am at Raglan Fire Station at 11 Wainui Road. A course fee of $20 is payable by cash or cheque. Participants should bring a lifejacket, as a boat trip out on the bar is included.

A range of useful material, including the safe boating resources and North Island harbour guides, will also be available from EW on the day