Two rescued after boat capsizes while crossing Manukau bar

Two people have been rescued from a boat after it capsized while crossing the Manukau bar in Auckland on Sunday afternoon.

A member of the public alerted the coastguard to the capsized boat just after 2pm.

The Coastguard’s air patrol and a police helicopter monitored the situation from above, while Coastguard Waiuku volunteers were sent to the scene.

In the meantime, a person on a jet ski managed to rescue one person.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued the other person.

Rough sea conditions made it impossible to recover the upturned vessel.

The Coastguard applauded the skipper’s actions, saying they had logged a trip report and both individuals onboard were wearing lifejackets.

“The skipper of the capsized vessel did the right thing by logging a bar crossing trip report with our Operations Centre at 1:44 pm.

“Per our protocols, if we hadn’t heard from them by 2:14 pm, we would have initiated a search and rescue response.

“Luckily, a member of the public called us first.”

The Coastguard reminded all boaties about the importance of logging a trip report when crossing a bar, carrying two forms of waterproof communication including an EPIRB and/or a PLB, and always wearing a lifejacket.