Operation Neptune – helping people keep safe over the holiday

Krystal Geraghty’s day job is in rural compliance for Waikato Regional Council.

But this summer she moonlighted as a maritime safety officer, helping the council’s Maritime Services team patrol the region’s beaches and inland rivers and lakes for non-compliance of the Navigation Safety Bylaw.

“These two jobs are completely different but kind of the same,” says Krystal, who spent her summer helping patrol at Whangamatā, Tairua and Whitianga. “The skills are very transferable, interacting with the public and having some challenging conversations, but it sure doesn’t feel like work when you are out on the water all day in the sun and making a difference by making sure people get home safe from their holiday.”

The council’s annual Operation Neptune, held during the Christmas-New Year break, involved patrols across the region aboard nine vessels and ran from 26 December to 16 January.

Twenty-two regional council staff were involved in the operation, with the maritime services team topped up by staff who work in other areas within the council.

“We had a couple of training days out on the water before we started, becoming competent with driving a jet ski and role-playing interactions with boaties.

“We come alongside vessels, have a chat with them about best practice while out on the water and ask them questions as part of a survey – we ask them what forms of communication are carried on board, how long the skipper has been boating for, and what training they have done.

“Most people had a reasonably good understanding of the rules and were happy to talk to us. The general feeling from the public was that they appreciated us being present on the water and educating people. The majority of people caught breaching the bylaw were also generally co-operative, with only a minor proportion of them not wanting a bar of us.”

A total 1047 vessels were stopped on the water and spoken to by staff, and about 200 infringement notices were issued – almost double from last season.

“This year it did seem like there were quite a lot of people new to boating – perhaps having been in lockdown and unable to travel they’ve bought a boat instead.

“It is concerning when you see the odd person out there who has done no training whatsoever and is unaware of the navigation safety rules.”

Krystal says she handed out about 31 notices of breaches.

“We were quite strict with rules that should be well known and pose the biggest risk to people. It’s no excuses over summer, especially when it comes to speed, lifejackets and towing without an observer.”

The most common rule not being observed was the requirement to wear a lifejacket when underway on a vessel 6 metres or less (125 breaches regionwide), although 96 per cent of the vessels stopped had enough PFDs (personal flotation devices) on board for every person.

A total of 36 notices of breaches were handed out for towing without an observer.

Key incidents attended to by council staff included failed bar crossings in Raglan, Tairua and Matarangi, resulting in  people in the water.

Krystal says one of the more unusual jobs she was involved in was locating a huge log which had been reported floating off Whitianga.

“If anyone had hit it at speed it would have caused real damage.

“The log weighed over 2000 kilograms and took over an hour to tow back to the marina where it got stuck on the boat ramp and required a crane and tractor to move.”