Coastguard New Zealand has been kept busy on the water in its Auckland and Northland region today, with a number of minor, preventable incidents.
Coastguard New Zealand's northern region covers Auckland and Northland (file photo). Photo: Supplied / Coastguard
Duty officer John Cowan said today - the first day of the area's long anniversary weekend - had been a bit of an eye-opener, with staff having to deal with an assortment of minor call-outs.
"People just with silly mechanical problems, and particularly running out of fuel. We've had probably six out-of-fuels today already, which is quite amazing because it's so easily avoided."
Mr Cowan said typically, at this time of year and when the weather was good, the coastguard received about 15-25 call-outs in total a day.
They were well-equipped to cope on Monday, with the Auckland Anniversary Regatta and other events on the harbour and in Hauraki Gulf, he said.
Last year, over Labour Weekend, the coastguard received 2240 calls from across the northern region and attended 63 incidents including the rescue of four people from a sinking 35-foot boat in the Hauraki Gulf.
The service said at the time that the majority of those incidents were due to mechanical and electrical faults.
The coastguard's northern region covers Auckland and Northland.